Kristen Villebrun and Wendy Bush hoped they wouldn't have to pray for Chedoke Creek, but four years after they first raised alarm about the water's condition, they were part of an Indigenous full moon ceremony to do just that. About 50 people showed up near Princess Point on the dark and frigid Monday evening for the monthly ceremony, which was particularly special as it focused on Chedoke Creek. The body of water that runs into Cootes Paradise had about 24 billion litres of sewage and storm water runoff leak into it due to a gate being left open.
Residents of New Glasgow, N.S., can now apply for free home assessments and upgrades to protect against overland flooding, through a new project by Clean Foundation. The Dartmouth-based environmental charity is partnering with Nova Scotia's Department of Environment and Climate Change, the Town of New Glasgow and the Halifax Regional Municipality to kick start the resilient home retrofit pilot project. In May, the province spent $400,000 on this initiative.
Flash flooding evacuation orders are in effect for two regions in Woodlands County, Alta., about 180 kilometres northwest of Edmonton, due to rising waters on the Athabasca River which is causing overland flooding. The order is in effect for residents in the Township Road 620A area along the Athabasca River, east of the hamlet of Fort Assiniboine and for the Flats Road area along the river. The orders came into effect Wednesday evening and require all residents to evacuate the area immediately. Rising waters are causing flooding and washing out roads and people have been advised to drive with caution and avoid impacted roads.
A flash flood led the southwestern Manitoba municipality of Boissevain-Morton to declare a state of emergency Wednesday, a municipal councillor says, as the spring snow melt sent a torrent of water gushing over frozen farm fields and washing out roads. The municipality estimates that at least 70 per cent of roads in the southern part of Boissevain-Morton, which is south of Brandon, were unsafe for travel due to washouts and overland flooding, according to a Wednesday Facebook post.
People in Winnipeg started stocking up on sandbags on Monday, on the first day the city made them available for those expecting or experiencing overland flooding. For Gino Mallari, it was the first time seeing the spring snow melt as the recent owner of a new house. "There is a big pool at our back lane and I'm worried that it's gonna get into the garage. So [I'm] hoping to, you know, prevent the water from coming into my backyard," Mallari said as he picked up some sandbags, adding that he's expecting that pool to get even bigger as the snow continues to melt.
With severe weather becoming less and less of a rarity across Canada, home insurance is climbing up the list of things Canadians have to double-check. And yet a new survey has found that one in three Canadian homeowners mistakenly think their standard home insurance policy includes flood protection. It doesn’t. The Insurance Bureau of Canada recently revealed that severe weather insurance claims shot up 400% from 15 years ago. Most recently, hurricane Fiona tore through Atlantic Canada and left $660 million worth of insured damage in its wake, making it the most expensive severe weather event in the region.
While communities in southern Manitoba battle flooding from the Red and Assiniboine rivers, people in the Interlake region are scrambling to save their homes from rising waters. Overland flooding from the Icelandic River, which runs into Lake Winnipeg, has washed out many roads and drenched fields in the municipality of Bifrost-Riverton. That municipality includes the community of Riverton and numerous hamlets, and surrounds the town of Arborg, about 100 kilometres north of Winnipeg.
Much of southern Manitoba is dealing with overland flooding and high water warnings. The province says the Red River continues to rise, a situation only made worse by last weekend’s storm. Pumps are running around the clock in St. Jean Baptiste. Justin Heinrichs, who was working in town, had to stop to take in just how high the water is, noting he hasn’t seen it this high in a while.
As winter nears an end, the New Brunswick government is advising residents who live near flood-prone areas to have emergency preparations ready. "While we are weeks away from overland flooding being a potential threat, the weather over the next two days is a reminder preparedness is a year-round necessity," said Greg MacCallum, director of the Emergency Measures Organization.
A judge has found the Manitoba government at fault for severe flooding along Lake Manitoba that destroyed homes and forced evacuations a decade ago. Manitoba's Court of Queen Bench Justice Joan McKelvey made the ruling in a decision released on Friday. McKelvey acknowledged high precipitation contributed to the overland flooding, but it didn't negate the impact of Manitoba's decision to intentionally divert water into the lake to protect Winnipeg.
