R.M. of Mossey declares state of emergency after flood

A central Manitoba community has declared a state of emergency after 20 roads were washed out and five homes were flooded this weekend.

The R.M. of Mossey River, just north of Dauphin, saw 150 millimetres of rain fall in two hours on Saturday.

Anne Pasternak, 91, was alone in her home on Saturday when water started flowing into her house. She said she was able to use her walker to get up onto her couch, where she stayed until her son and some neighbours came to rescue her.

"I was all upset and scared, and I thought, ‘What is going to happen?’" said Anne.

When Ray Pasternak arrived, he said there was a foot of water in his mother’s home. Luckily the power was still on, and they were able to move her to his home.

But now, Ray is stuck with a massive mess. He said local cleanup companies have told him they’re booked solid for the next month, so he has been pumping water out of the house by himself. In the meantime, his mom has moved in with him.

The family is one of many in the community cleaning up this week.

Larry Zurba is the reeve for the RM and said officials are still trying to do damage assessments. He said many families have been forced out of their homes, and emergency centre has been set up in the area.

On Monday, Zurba said the first task was to "fix a few roads in an event of an emergency so these people can get out."

The municipality is now working with emergency response officials.