‘I’m just devastated’: Manitobans face major ruin after massive floods hit province

Thousands of people in Manitoba are without power after thunderstorms, heavy rain, and tornado warnings swept the province. Alex Karpa has the latest.

STONEWALL, MAN. – Sylvia Senchuk’s basement is completely flooded, destroying most of her belongings in the process.

She said the water rose so quickly, she had little time to react.

“We could not grab everything,” she said. “You couldn’t keep up. You’re in one room trying to do stuff and you see stuff floating down the hallway beside you. It was just terrible.”

A severe storm ripped through much of southern Manitoba Tuesday night, producing vicious winds, intense rainfall and hail.

Senchuk’s home in Stonewall, which is about 37 kilometres north of Winnipeg, received more than 250 millimetres of rain, which flooded many homes in the town.

“It was very scary,” she said. “I’ve never been through anything like that in my life.”

Just down the road from Senchuk, Adam Cilinsky is doing everything he can to save his families belongings.

He’s pumping water from his basement after the storm knocked out both his furnace and air conditioner.

He’s hoping insurance will help his family find temporary housing.

“We have two twins upstairs too, so we have to find a place that we can be in and function,” he said.

“It was surprising to see a town get hit this hard. We have never seen rain like this before, and I hope and pray that the insurance companies can help everyone out as well.”

The town of Stonewall is urging residents to limit unnecessary water use over the next 24 to 48 hours, as the wastewater systems are running at or near capacity.

In nearby Stony Mountain, chest-deep water is all that remains inside Kasandra Flett’s basement.

Flett has lived in the community for most of her life saying, “I’ve never seen it like this.”

“(The rain) just wouldn’t stop.”

Heavy rainfalls, high winds, power outages

In addition to Stonewall, other areas in the province received significant amounts of rain, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC).

The Woodlands area received more than 120 mm, while The Forks in Winnipeg reported 122 mm.

Some areas, including Dand and Deloraine, reported wind gusts of up to 130 km/h. Many other areas reported winds of over 100 km/h.

ECCC says grapefruit-sized hail was reported in Otterburne, while tennis ball-sized hail was reported in parts of Winnipeg and Sanford.

Thousands of Manitobans are still without power, nearly 24 hours after the storm began.

Manitoba Hydro said all available resources are being used to respond to outages and safely restore power as quickly as possible.

“Crews are assessing hundreds of downed lines and other damage, which will give us a clearer picture of when power will be restored,” said the Crown corporation’s media relations officer Peter Chura in a news release.

Restoration times may vary depending on the area.

Several flights delayed

A spokesperson from the Winnipeg Airports Authority (WAA) confirmed the storm impacted a total of 62 flights Tuesday. Among them, 14 arriving and 38 departing flights were outright cancelled, and 10 were “held before being diverted or assigned gates.”

“We expect the impact of the storm will affect our operations for 24-48 hours and there were some flights today that were delayed or cancelled as a result of the weather,” the WAA spokesperson told CTV News.

“Last night was an extraordinary weather event and our teams are working around the clock to ensure passengers can get on their way as soon as it is safe to do so,” they added. “We ask that passengers check the status of their flight before coming to the airport.”

Confirmed tornado

ECCC confirmed a tornado ripped through St. Anne while multiple reports of tornadoes are being investigated in other areas.

Meteorologist Scott Kehler said he saw another tornado near Dufrost, which is about 60 kilometres south of Winnipeg.

“It was a really wild day of weather in southern Manitoba, something that we don’t see very often,” said Kehler, who was following tornadic activity Tuesday evening.

“It’s definitely one of the most severe days I’ve ever seen.”

Kehler said this could just be the beginning of a very active summer when it comes to tornadoes.

“We’re only in early June, and typically the severe weather season on the Prairies doesn’t reach its peak until mid-July,” he said. “A lot of that has to do with the amount of humidity that’s available to these storms, so typically, mid-summer is the most humid time of the year for the Prairies.”

“Given what we’re already seeing, I think there’s a good likelihood that we will see more severe weather as the summer goes on.”

Communities across western Manitoba are also grappling with severe flooding, prompting several municipalities to declare local states of emergency.

As of Wednesday, Swan River, Minitonas-Bowsman, and Swan Valley West issued the declarations due to rising water levels.

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew was in Swan River Wednesday, assessing the damage.

‘It’s terrible’

For Senchuk, the devastation is overwhelming. The 80-year-old doesn’t know how she’ll recover from this.

“Everything is gone down there,” she said.

“Most of that stuff can’t be replaced. The furniture, the beds, and the couches can, but all my personal things like all my paintings, canvases, and frames, you can’t replace that.”

“I’m just devastated,” she said.