Peguis First Nation is starting immediate evacuation of some residents as the community in Manitoba’s Interlake region braces for a potentially devastating flood.
Evacuations of first-priority residents — including people who have medical disabilities, are diabetic, pregnant or need additional help — will begin at once, the First Nation announced Monday afternoon.
The community has been scrambling to prepare for flooding the province has warned could reach levels seen in 2022, when about 2,000 people were forced out of the community. Peguis and neighbouring Fisher River Cree Nation declared a state of emergency Saturday.
A provincial flood bulletin issued Monday said spring runoff is expected to begin this week across much of central Manitoba, including the Fisher River and Icelandic River basins.
The bulletin said more than half a million sandbags and 11,000 super-sized sandbags have been provided to assist Peguis, while the community of Fisher River has received more than 36,000 sandbags and 1,000 of the larger sandbags.
Peguis did not provide an exact number of residents who would be evacuated. It said it will begin contacting them, with the Canadian Red Cross set to help find locations for evacuees.
