Minnedosa residents forced to evacuate after area hit with more rain Tuesday night

The aftermath of heavy rains over the past few days caused dozens of Minnedosans to leave their homes Tuesday night.

Environment Canada saysBrandonand the surrounding area, including Minnedosa, saw nearly 222 millimetres of rain last month but nearly 190 millimetres of that rain fell overthe last three days.

Minnedosa and the rural municipality of Minto-Odanahboth declared local states of emergency on Tuesday, asroads washed out, and streets and homes flooded.Minnedosa mayor Pat Skatch said Tuesday that a footbridge in the town, which is nearly200 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, was also destroyed

One person in Minnedosa was even sent to hospital, after a sump pump sparked a fire while trying to suck water out of theirbasement.

"It's been a busy few days," said Minnedosa fire chief Dean Jordan.

People living in the affected areas havehad to prepare for further stormy weather while assessingthe damage.

"As people were getting somewhat cleaned up people were sandbagging and kind of preparing in advance oflast night's forecast," said Jordan.

The province also provided some AquaDamstemporary water-filled barrier which can control and divert water which were placed near personal care homes, in order to protect vulnerable residents that would be tough to evacuate, he said.

"That helped in advance of the big flood," he said.

Between 11:30 p.m Tuesday and 1 a.m. Wednesday is when the "significant rain" hit Minnedosa, and a crew of 20 firefighters went door-to-door to help people evacuate from the most affected areas, Jordan said.

In all, 84 people left their homes, though only eight were mandatory, he said.

"I think it was just they knew what we had two days ago, and with the expectation of almost that again, theyweren't going to stick around for it."

All evacuees checked in at the evacuation centre that the town set up at the community hall Tuesday night, then were driven to a family member's home or a hotel, Jordan said.

Some of the evacuees are returning to their properties Wednesday to assess the damage and fix what they can, he said, andtown officials have been in touch withproperty owners about next steps and who to contact.

Meanwhile, the fire department will be checking onthe areas that were most impacted, including the downtown and valley area, Jordan said.

The biggest challenge now will likely be getting word out to people who had to leave their homes, he added.

Jordan suggests residents of Minnedosa be on the lookout for communication from town officials.

Tuesday night provided no relief for other parts of Manitoba still mopping up from lastweekend's storms.

The hardest hit area Tuesday night was around Clearwater, near Pilot Mound, where 75 millimetres of rain fell. That area also saw wind gusts of 122 km/hr.

The second highest amount was in Emerson at 65 millimetres.

Meanwhile, Carberry and Gretna had 50 mm.

Highway 10, from Minnedosa between Road 89 and Road 90 north, hasnow reopened.