Water levels continue to rise on Lake Manitoba Saturday night with a steady torrent of water flowing from the Portage Diversion.
A summer storm that rolled through St. Laurent in the afternoon caused concern for people who say they fear a repeat of the 2011 flood.
One after the other, crews place super sandbags by the hundreds along Laurentia Beach, battling to hold a surging Lake Manitoba at bay.
"We're absolutely scared,” said Alison Dennis. “We don't want to see anything close to what happened in 2011."
The flood of 2011 remains top of mind for many people living along the beach. Some, like Chris McCann, continue the process of upgrading their properties to prevent a similar scenario from ever affecting them again.
"Right now we're lifting our cottage,” said McCann. “We want to get above the flood protection level that the province has established so we're bringing it up."
With a severe summer storm bearing down from the horizon, crews worked frantically to shore up super sandbags in case the storm kicks up giant waves.
“With the high levels of the lake, when that wind comes roaring in, it picks up the waves and just smashes them, eroding everything and infiltrating into our infrastructure," said Barbara McManus, emergency coordinator for the RM of St. Laurent.
Saturday afternoon's thunderstorm brought high winds, heavy rains and crashing waves. Thanks to last-minute efforts, the defenses held back the surge this time.
Alison Dennis would like to see steps taken to lower the lake levels to reduce the flood risk. "We're very, very concerned about the water levels,” she said. “We need an exit channel and we need one very soon."
The RM has set up an emergency operations centre where people can get accurate information on what to expect in the coming weeks.
The province doesn't expect the highest levels on Lake Manitoba to hit until early august.
- With a report by Ben Miljure
