Manitoba community using drone technology to prepare for spring flooding
With the spring thaw in full effect, now is the time for flood prone communities to start preparing.
The RM of St. Andrews will be getting early warning of trouble this season as they’re using drone technology to get an advance look at developing problems.
One of the residents who will benefit from this technology is Mac Pulling, who was forced to evacuate after his street got a torrent of water back in 2015.
“I was sitting on my front deck and I watched it, the water going over,” he said. “And I said, ‘Oh, it’s time to go to town.’”
Pulling knew there was a good chance of flooding that year, but he didn’t know exactly when to expect it.
In the annual flood fight, officials say this is pretty common.
“In the last decade we wouldn’t be able to react till we were actually in a situation where we had an ice jam, and water was beginning to back up. So we were very reactive,” said Brent Olynyk, CAO of the RM of St. Andrews.
Today the RM is able to get an early warning thanks to drone technology.
Earlier this week, the RM conducted its first drone flight of the season to capture aerial footage of the ice conditions along the Red River. The idea is to monitor for any potential risk of ice jamming and watch how and where the ice is moving each day.
“[We are] able to warn ourselves and say get ready in the next 12 or 15 hours, we could be experiencing a problem,” Olynyk said.
Mayor Joy Sul said having 15 hours notice instead of 15 minutes is a huge advantage for people in the community.
“Residents can go on the website and see exactly what’s happening at that at that moment, how the water is moving, where the water is breaking up and if there is going to be a jam, where it’s going to be,” Sul said.
Pulling said he appreciates the early warning after years of sudden surprises.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
House of Commons Speaker Greg Fergus survives vote calling for his ouster
Greg Fergus survived a vote to oust him as House of Commons Speaker on Tuesday, but with close to half of MPs expressing a loss of confidence in him, he faces a precarious path forward in maintaining order in Parliament.
'It was hell': Israeli mother held hostage with her children describes 51 days in captivity
Hagar Brodutch, her three children and four-year-old neighbour were kidnapped by Hamas-led militants from their home in Kfar Aza, Israel on Oct. 7 and held for 51 days. They were released in November, but Brodutch says her thoughts are never far from those still being held in Gaza.
'Unruly passenger' forces WestJet flight to make emergency landing in B.C.
A WestJet flight heading to Calgary had to make an emergency landing in northern B.C. Monday due to an incident involving an 'unruly passenger,' Mounties say.
P.E.I. kiteboarder 'lucky to be alive' after shark attack in Turks and Caicos
A professional kiteboarder from P.E.I. says he has been seriously injured in a shark attack that occurred while he was snorkelling in the Turks and Caicos Islands last week.
Teen dies after being hit by train in N.W. Calgary
A teenager has died after being hit by a train in northwest Calgary on Tuesday afternoon.
Black bear kebabs make family sick with parasitic worms
It was supposed to be a celebration, but one family’s unique meal of black bear meat sent several members to the hospital instead.
'It's his vacation too': Jimmy the baby goat joins 2-week road trip across Canada
After Jimmy the baby goat was shunned by his mother, a New Brunswick man took the kid on a two-week road trip across Canada.
The double-level airplane seat is back. This time, there’s a first-class version
It’s the airplane seat design that launched a thousand memes and kickstarted a media storm. And now the double-level seat is back – only this time, with a twist.
New COVID-19 subvariants become the dominant strains in Canada
More than four years after COVID-19 effectively shut down the world, two new variants of COVID-19 have become the dominant strains of the novel coronavirus in Canada.