The message from flood forecasters to government officials at the annual Red River Basin Land and Water Conference in Fargo today was be prepared for flooding this spring as the combination of snow and saturated soil could lead to significant flooding in the Red River Basin.
“The U.S. forecasters were indicating that for Fargo and for Grand Forks there is a significant chance of major flooding this spring as a result of snow volumes and saturated soil from the fall,” said Steinbach MLA, Kelvin Goertzen who attended the conference on Tuesday.
“Those conditions are also present to some degree in Manitoba and our local officials are saying that the chance of a flood is significant, but the severity depends a lot on what happens in the spring. How fast the snow melts and the level of precipitation we get in spring are significant factors that are hard to predict right now,” said Goertzen.
The annual conference heard from U.S. Weather Forecasters on Tuesday who outlined the growing concern for spring flooding this year.
Goertzen says the overarching message that the provincial government should take away is to ensure it is ready for the potential for major flooding this spring.
“There is plenty of warning about the risk for severe flooding this spring. There is also time to get ready now for that potential and to avoid, as much as possible, getting caught unprepared,” said Goertzen.
