Heavy rain causes overland flooding in multiple Manitoba communities

Significant rain Tuesday morning has resulted in road closures and overland flooding in multiple Manitoba communities.

The town of Blumenort was among those hit with the rain. Amber Neufeld said the rain began at 7 a.m. and didn't let up.

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"It looks like a beach here," Neufeld said of the waves coming into her driveway on Tuesday.

Crews have closed Rockridge Drive in the town due to the flooding. Neufeld said the fire department had to help remove one vehicle from the road stranded in the flooded street.

Flooding in the streets of Blumenort, Man. on Sept. 17, 2024. (Amber Neufeld)

"I've never seen rain this bad," she said.

Neufeld had to move her vehicle into the garage due to the rain, but was lucky her home was not flooded. Others on the street were not so lucky.

"A guy down the street got a squeegee from the fire department because his basement was flooded," she said. "Two doors down, their garage is flooded."

Stephen Berg, a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada, said over the past 36 hours, southern Manitoba has been drenched with rain. He said Ste. Pierre-Jolys received 167 millimetres of rain, while Steinbach reported 156 mm, Elma reported 138 mm and Winkler had 133 mm. Over the past two days, the Ste Anne area has received 210 mm of rain.

Berg reminded drivers to be careful while navigating flooded streets.

"The best thing to do if you're needing to get somewhere would be to try to avoid water-inundated roadways because of slippery, slippery conditions, but also hydroplaning, and it's quite a hazardous sort of situation for driving," he said.

Berg said some showers are in the forecast later in the week, but they aren't expected to be as intense as Tuesday's events. 

Jim Funk, Reeve of the RM of Hanover, noted multiple communities, including Kleefeld, Randolph and Mitchell, were hit by the rain, and multiple basements were flooded. 

"You cannot prepare for this amount of rain in this short of time, no matter what you do," he said.

Funk said the RM is assisting homeowners by helping pump water off the streets and out of houses and providing sandbags for people who wish to use them.

Flooding in the streets of Blumenort, Man. on Sept. 17, 2024. (Amber Neufeld)