People living in Steinbach woke up to flooded basements and streets as a storm hit the area early Wednesday.
Rainfall amounts ranged from between 60 to 120 millimetres in the area – or almost five inches.
The downpour hit around 4:30 a.m. on July 25.
Pools of water flooded streets, stranding drivers as vehicles stalled during the morning commute.
“As soon as the water started coming over the hood, I put it into first gear and tried plowing through it and it died out,” said driver Dan Charette.
The city said part of the reason that water took so long to drain is the current system in place.
“Rather than water disappearing through grates into underground storm drains, much of the drainage that we have across the city actually flows surface – which is curb and gutter along the streets,” said Troy Warkentin from the City of Steinbach.
The water then travels into a larger storm drainage system or into open ditches.
The city said it received a handful of calls about damage to basements Wednesday afternoon and expects to receive more calls in upcoming hours.
Environment Canada officials said the storm system passed through the area unexpectedly and without any lightning, thunder or wind.
They said the area can expect more rain in the next few days, but believe the worst has already passed.
- with a report from CTV's Rajeev Dhir
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- to check out more images from the flooding, please go to our photo gallery
