Residents with homes on the Red River north of Winnipeg were forced to flee as ice jams forced floodwaters over dikes in mid-April. (CBC)

The Manitoba government has given clearance for municipalities to enforce mandatory buyouts of flood-prone homes.

'These municipalities are not willing to put the lives of property owners and emergency personnel at risk in future flood situations and we support their position.'— Steve Ashton, Manitoba emergency measures minister

Emergency Measures Minister Steve Ashton announced Thursday that the province's flood mitigation plan will include support for municipalities that want to take that step.

"We have … heard from municipalities that there are some extremely flood-prone areas where it just doesn't make sense for homes to be located," he said. "These municipalities are not willing to put the lives of property owners and emergency personnel at risk in future flood situations and we support their position."

In these areas, the province will support municipalities wishing to make buyouts mandatory and will provide incentives to assist owners to relocate to safer areas, said Ashton, who is also the intergovernmental affairs minister.

The Manitoba Emergency Measures Organization, Manitoba Water Stewardship and Manitoba Conservation are working closely with the affected municipalities to identify the damaged properties that cannot be flood proofed.

"We want to thank the municipal leaders who are helping us with these efforts," said Ashton. "They know best which properties should be identified for mandatory buyout options."

Residents see damaged homes for first time in weeks

Many residences north of Winnipeg were damaged — some destroyed — by massive chunks of ice on the April 11-12 weekend. It happened when the fast-flowing Red River slammed into metre-thick ice that had jammed the river.

The blocked water jumped the banks and created a flash flood that shoved the ice into riverfront properties in the rural municipalities of St. Andrews and St. Clements.

On Thursday, some people had their first opportunity to go in and take a look at their homes in Breezy Point, which is located in St. Andrews.

"It's upsetting, said resident Sandy Allen, who struggled to hold back her emotions. "It's a mess; pretty rough looking."

Her house once had beautiful bay windows facing the river, but the wall that held them has been smashed in. Her carport is shredded, her deck is a mess and there's a downed hydro pole in her front yard.

Uninhabitable homes painted with an orange X

There are about 112 homes in Breezy Point, a cottage community with a number of permanent residents along the Red River north of Selkirk.

Much of the area is littered with debris and houses that have been torn from their foundations, reported CBC's Sean Reynolds, who toured the area on Thursday. Many houses have been marked by provincial flood officials, painted with an orange X to identify them as unsuitable for use.

Provincial officials will take more people in the next few days for a quick look around and to grab valuables they couldn't get when they had to flee. People are still not allowed to move back into the area.

'There's no reason in God's creation that they gotta kick everybody out of here. I don't care what the hell they say. We've survived it for all these years, people can survive it again.'—Ed Cheys, Breezy Point resident

People whose homes were most damaged and permanent residents of the area are being let in first.

So far, no decisions have been made about potential buyouts for homeowners in Breezy Point. Don Forfar, reeve of the RM of St. Andrews, said any talk of buyouts would depend on homeowners filing claims for disaster financial assistance.

"There's different levels of flooding and different levels of claims, and that will be part of what's used to determine what has to be done," he said. "But if they've had just a minor bit of flooding in a garage, that's obviously different than a $200,000 home that was destroyed."

In the north section of Breezy Point, the situation is slightly different. There are about 42 homes on Crown land and can't be bought out. Residents lease their property from the federal government.

However, Forfar said those homeowners might be offered incentive packages from the province to encourage them to move out.

Breezy Point resident Ed Cheys doesn't like the idea of leaving and vocal about his displeasure on Thursday.

"There's no reason in God's creation that they gotta kick everybody out of here," Cheys said. "I don't care what the hell they say. We've survived it for all these years; people can survive it again.

"But somebody else is regulating our life now. And I think that's wrong."

In St. Clements, Mayor Steve Strang is calling for about 18 homes along the Red River to be bought out because the area is routinely flooded.

Not only are there concerns about mould issues in rebuilt homes, emergency officials face risks when trying to rescue stranded residents and it's not fair to keep putting them through that, Strang said.

Buyout decisions made quickly

The provincial government offered buyouts to residents in southern Manitoba following the 1997 flood, but there were complaints from several residents that the process took too long.

Those willing to take a buyout were sometimes left hanging for months, waiting to find out whether the government would pay them. There were 63 homeowners bought out after the 1997 flood, primarily in the rural municipalities of Morris, Franklin and Ritchot, all south of Winnipeg.

'These people need predictability now and we will be there for them while continuing to work co-operatively with the federal government on a funding plan.'— Steve Ashton, Manitoba emergency measures minister

Ashton and Premier Gary Doer said the province wants to notify people of buyouts as soon as possible.

As was done following the flood of 1997, there will be a provincial funding program this year to assist homeowners who need to better flood proof their properties. Where repairing a home and flood proofing isn't feasible, the province will offer voluntary buyouts, Ashton said.

"People are looking for assurances that government will be there to support them and we want to provide that assurance," he said. "These people need predictability now and we will be there for them while continuing to work co-operatively with the federal government on a funding plan."

A number of options are still being discussed with the federal government, but several people are facing serious decisions about the restoration of their properties, he added.