Community cut off after flooding washes out roads in western Manitoba
Flooding that has washed out many roads and bridges in western Manitoba has cut off one community from the outside world.
"We can't get out of here at all," Robert Hanson said Monday from Mafeking, a community of 130 residents.
Bridges to the north and south of Mafeking were severely damaged by heavy rain late last week that combined with melting snow in and around Duck Mountain Provincial Park.
"Such high water came out of there, it just washed out everything in its path," said Hanson, who is reeve of the Rural Municipality of Mountain, which includes Mafeking and some other hard-hit communities.
Another highway to the west has sections that are under water.
"We've got washouts all over the place."
Mafeking's ambulance station has been closed because the ambulance was outside the community when the bridge washed out and cannot get back. Anyone needing medical care will have to be taken out by helicopter.
In other communities, roads, bridges and culverts were washed out. There were at least three provincial bridges severely damaged and many municipal roads inundated.
"It's been very devastating in that region," said Doyle Piwniuk, minister for emergency measures.
Hanson said he and others in Mafeking might be able to leave in three days when a bridge to the north is expected to reopen.
The flooding in western Manitoba is the latest disaster to hit the province, which has been dealing with high water for weeks.
In the central region, more than 1,800 people from the Peguis First Nation are still out of their homes due to the swollen Fisher River.
South of Winnipeg, the Red River has started to recede but still resembles a vast lake in many areas, covering farmland and roads. A section of Highway 75, the main link between the provincial capital and the United States, remained closed.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 16, 2022.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States, injuring at least three people.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.