Western Manitoba First Nation declares state of emergency as flooding cuts regional access

Minegoziibe Anishinabe, also known as Pine Creek First Nation, has declared a state of emergency due to flooding that has severed the community's access to essential services and regional centres.

The First Nation, located about 320 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg on the western shore of Lake Winnipegosis, is effectively landlocked after heavy rainfall washed out Highway 20 — the road connecting the community to Camperville and the region's closest major centre, Dauphin. Road closures to the west toward Swan River compound the isolation.

"We are landlocked in place without reliable road access," Chief Derek Nepinak wrote in a letter posted Wednesday night. Overland flooding has cut off the only routes to emergency services to the south. The community planned to open a drop-in emergency centre at its community hall, which has backup power, as of Thursday noon.

Evacuations are not currently being looked at, but that could change based on any "escalation of the weather crisis," Nepinak said. More than 30 communities across the Parkland region have now declared states of emergency. Travel is significantly restricted, with provincial transportation officials reporting up to 50 roads damaged, covered by water or with washed-out sections.

Meanwhile, the town of Swan River is under a mandatory evacuation order with highway access cut off. That means fuel and food may need to be airlifted in to the town's more than 5,000 residents, according to Mayor Lance Jacobson. The Swan River has risen about three metres above normal — a level the mayor said he has never seen in his lifetime. "It just tears you apart to see the damage that this river can do," he said. "I could never imagine that this would have ever happened." Provincial transport officials will need to rebuild roads and highways after the waters recede.