While most towns and villages stand protected by ring dikes as the crest arrived, some individual farms and residences did not have dikes that could defeat the Red.

The unusually high snowfalls in Manitoba created problems with spring runoff as the melt began. With the melt underway, space to store all the melt water began to deplete long before the water coming from the U.S. arrived.

Water is everywhere it shouldn't be. To those of you visiting this site from outside the province or inside the City of Winnipeg, it must be stressed that this flood has already caused extreme damage.

There is very little that restricts the movement of this amount of water over the vast prairie. Rural roads seem to fizz under the flow of floodwater that races over their edges.

Once the waters do find their way into Manitoba, the familiar fields are tragically replaced by what appears to be an unending sea. This body of water has been disaffectionately named "The Red Sea". Anyone who has lived and seen Manitoba in the season of Spring will find the image below invokes feelings of both upset and awe.

Towns Against the Red
A number of towns are currently engaged in struggles against these floodwaters. While the crest has arrived in many towns, extremely high water levels will persist for weeks following the passing of the crest.

We present views of towns along the Red River which were fortified to fight the invasion of the Red. To those individuals who helped shore these towns up, and perhaps their concerned relatives, we congratulate you on your extreme efforts.

Emerson
The photo at right was shot the day of the crest arrival. Dikes looked very good. The day of this flight, very strong winds were a concern because of the wave action that would attack the dikes. While Emerson's dikes were built well, this was a day that was considered a test for the protective dikes. Emerson gets an "A" on this exam.

St. Jean Baptiste
St. Jean Baptiste looks strong as the crest is hours away.

Letellier
Letellier's dikes look well on this pass overhead hours prior to the crest of the floodwaters.

Morris
Morris experienced a significant test on April 28 as the crest approached and the winds were high. Morris' dikes were "topped-up" in very rapid fashion. While the permanent dikes were believed to have no problems with the expected wave actio from winds, the recently constructed "top-ups" were unproven.

The first test was the ability of the dikes to handle the pounding of waves from winds that reached a maximum of 60 km/hour. While whitecaps were seen from the air, the dikes at Morris held firm. This day should inspire confidence in refugees from Morris who watch their town's fate from a distance following mandatory evacuation.

St. Agathe
St. Agathe's situation appeared under control at the time of this overflight. Days later, the Red jumped overtopped a railbed that functioned as a dike on one side of the town. The result was complete complete victory for the Red. We will have photos of the situation after the Red's insurgence very shortly.

Please remember: Many of the images you will see contain the homes of people who have been uprooted from their families, homes, and livelihoods. They need your help NOW. Please contact your LOCAL RED CROSS and tell them you wish to donate to the FUND FOR MANITOBA FLOOD RELIEF......THANK YOU FOR YOUR CARING SUPPORT!

Please watch this space for additional updates. We will be bringing you more stories in the days ahead.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have stories and photos you can share with us. We'll get them on this site immediately upon receiving them. You can also telephone us to contribute your flood stories by calling our flood info hotline at 992-2203.