A predicted catastrophe

” What is happening in southern Manitoba today is hard to describe. The people there knew that there was a massive flow of water from the middle of the United States that the Red River had grown and was coming to flood their property, flood their land, their homes. “

Manitoba – and particularly the area where the Red River flows – is prone to flooding.

By 1950, water had engulfed southeastern Manitoba and the city of Winnipeg.

At that time, 100,000 people had to be evacuated, the largest exodus in Canadian history.

The disaster was repeated to a lesser extent in 1979.

On April 22, 1997, the Manitoba provincial government had to declare a state of emergency in the south of its territory, as the waves continued to rise.

The next day, journalist Marc Godbout showed up at Newscast a situation report.

In villages near the Canada-US border, thousands of people have been ordered to flee their homes.

We welcome victims to Winnipeg where we try to comfort them.

Marc Godbout stressed that the worst is yet to come.

The maximum water level should be reached on April 27 and 28. The damage will therefore increase.

A vast flat plain

How to explain the size of the flood in 1997?

First, the winter leading up to the spring of 1997 saw very strong snowfall in both the central United States and Manitoba.

Melting snow in the U.S. states bordering Manitoba-North and South Dakota as well as Minnesota-is causing the Red River to erupt on its banks and causing catastrophic overflow.

However, the Red River Valley is actually a lacustrine plain that is one of the flattest places on Earth.

In this type of terrain, the water extends northward and slowly flows south into Manitoba and into Winnipeg.

The Manitoban called the Red Sea will soon occupy 1950 square kilometers.

1^eh May 1997, the host of Telejournal, Bernard Derome, is located in Winnipeg opposite the Saint-Boniface district. He tells us about the situation facing Manitoba.

The facilitator also walks with a City of Winnipeg staff to some of the flooded areas.

Bernard Derome specifically travels on rue Sainte-Marie, a major artery that goes from the city center to the Saint-Vital district, which is completely submerged under two to three meters of water.

At one point, he even had to bend over to avoid touching the cables that were usually above his head.

We relied on the last line of defense, the ring road we had secured, to prevent water from flooding the capital.

But the situation is far from certain.

The Winnipeg city official explains that authorities are not certain the dikes protecting some districts, including in Saint-Norbert, will be resisted.

A wonderful unity

” They are incredible. There are people coming from everywhere. They’re all ages, they’re all groups, it doesn’t matter. […] There are even some, I was told, who seem to pass through the city for a few days and it takes them a few hours to get here… “

The Saint-Norbert district is south of Winnipeg. On April 27, 1997, journalist Marc-André Masson was there for the special program Floods in Manitoba supervised by Michael Jean.

Marc-André Masson observes the immense momentum of solidarity developing to help the residents of Saint-Norbert.

In the parking lot of a shopping center, there are more than 600 volunteers busy filling sandbags.

These bags will be taken by truck to Lord Street in Saint-Norbert. It is estimated that volunteers filled more than nine million sandbags.

During the report, we heard participants recount their experience and the impact of their action for some victims.

Marc-André Masson also introduced us to Rachel Humphrey who had to evacuate her home with her three children.

She has never experienced such a situation and hopes to be away from home for at least four to six weeks.

A difficult rebuild

On June 11, 1997, journalist Marc Godbout performed on the show Punto, hosted by Achille Michaud, a report on the difficult situation left by the floods for some Manitoban.

In Sainte-Agathe, a small village of several hundred souls, houses sank under two meters of water.

The Boisjoli and the Courcelles saw their dwellings destroyed.

Daniel Boisjoli and his family have to live in a trailer while they wait for what they can rescue from their home.

Young married, father of a possibly sick child, Daniel Boisjoli believes he has no way to rebuild his house.

This is pretty much the same state of mind for Albert Courcelles ’family members.

Jeannine Courcelles has a hard time not knowing if her house is considered a total loss that should be rebuilt.

Jacques, his son, is for his part overwhelmed with the work of cleaning and rebuilding his house and that of his parents.

For Albert Courcelles, he expresses his optimism. The people showed great unity. He thinks he can renovate his house in a year.

In 1997 in Manitoba, 28,000 had to be evacuated and approximately 1,000 homes were destroyed by flooding.