June 24, 2011Canadian provinces prepare for flooding
WAWANESA, Manitoba, Two Canadian provinces prepared for Souris River flooding that had forced thousands of Minot, N.D., evacuations. Many roads were already closed in Canada.
In Saskatchewan, the source of the river, two towns are protecting themselves from floodwaters, Postmedia News reported Friday.
In Manitoba, the Souris River was expected to peak between July 7 and 9 at Wawanesa, provincial officials said Thursday during a briefing. The timeline is about 10 days earlier than first estimated, leaving communities along the river's path only about two weeks to raise levees by as much as 7 feet.
Officials said they revised their prediction based on U.S. data that indicated the river was flooding Minot faster than expected, Postmedia News said.
More than a dozen highways in Canada were overwhelmed by water and have been closed, forcing travelers and truckers to take alternate routes, CBC News reported. Cross-border shipping from North Dakota through the border post at North Portal, Saskatchewan, was closed Thursday because of the flooding and highway closures blocked access to border posts south of Estevan, Torquay and Northgate.
The Canada Border Services Agency warned travelers and truckers to "verify travel plans prior to departure as highway closures throughout the affected area are impacting access to several ports of entry."
