Storm floods Winnipeg with calls of flooded basements, downed trees

Cleanup is underway in southern Manitoba in the wake of yet another wet and windy storm.

Over the last few days, parts of the province received more than 60 millimetres of rain and experienced wind gusts over 100 kilometres an hour.

The City of Winnipeg dealt with hundreds of weather-related calls since May 29.

When it came to dealing with water, 311 received 367 calls over the three-day period, with the majority of them received on Tuesday.

According to the city, 198 calls were related to flooded basements, two calls were due to high water in retention ponds, and 167 calls were for flooded streets and ditches. Ninety-eight of those calls happened on May 31.

Meanwhile, the city heard about more than water damage. The strong winds also resulted in several uprooted trees.

The city said there were 95 calls for downed trees or broken branches since Tuesday.

Carol Dignard made one of those calls after a 20-foot tree barely missed her Bannatyne Avenue house.

"Thank god the wind wasn't blowing from the field to my house because the tree would have been in the house and I would have been hit first because my bedroom window is right by the tree," said Dignard.

She said the tree missed hitting her house by about five-feet, completely avoiding the roof and her deck in the front yard.

"If the wind was blowing in the opposite direction, it would have got me. If it was blowing in the other direction it would have got the elderly couple that live next door…that would have went right on their duplex,” she said. “Someone was sure watching over us."

Kerienne La France, supervisor of Urban Forestry Technical Services with the city, said the tree cleanup process has been busy, noting crews were attending calls throughout the day Tuesday and into the evening.

She anticipates work will be able to get done by the end of the week, as calls for service have started to slow down now.

"So these are primarily public trees that have fallen or are damaged, but if private trees have fallen and are affecting public property, like a public right of way for example, we might attend to that as well," said La France.

"In cases where a tree is blocking a road or something like that, we mobilize a crew to get there as soon as we can, make the area safe and also follow up with cleanup."

She said there have already been a lot of wind storms to hit the city in 2022, but said this is the first one this year where multiple trees were toppled, and that's mainly because leaves have started to appear on trees.

"Once those canopies are in full leaf, that canopy acts as a sail and are more susceptible to wind damage. So we know that going into this particular season, this is the season that the leaves are out and we have to be on guard and ready to go. We are always watching the weather and preparing for these events."

For those who have large trees near their properties, La France said it is best to be proactive before storms come. She suggests people prune the trees to prevent them from falling in a storm and to consult an arborist to determine the best course of action.

In Dignard's case, she said she is now in wait mode for the tree to be cleaned up from her front yard.