Although it left more than 86,000 hectares of farmland under water, this year's Red River flood failed to match the severity of the devastating flood of 1997.

This spring's flood, which reached its peak on April 24, spread over 1,680 square kilometres and covered 86,400 hectares of farmland, according to a Statistics Canada report based on satellite image data.

By comparison, the 1997 flood washed over more than 142,000 hectares and affected 346 farmers. A total of 225 farmers were affected by this spring's flood.

By April 28 of this spring, water covered 64,600 hectares. As of May 5 — the most recent Statistics Canada flood data available — 38,500 hectares remained submerged.

Though waters have receded in the outlying areas of this spring's flood, those in some of the worst-affected regions are still waiting for dry land to appear.

As of May 5, the municipality of Emerson, near the Manitoba-U.S. border, had been under water for 36 consecutive days.