Manitoba Considers Breaching Dike to Control Flood

Relieving pressure on dikes containing the Assiniboine River could flood up to 300 homes.

The Manitoba government could deliberately poke a hole in a dike today near Portage la Prairie, Man., to control the flow of the flooded Assiniboine River. That hole could end up flooding as many as 300 homes in southwestern Manitoba, but would relieve pressure further downstream, where a breach of dikes would threaten more than 800 homes. Crews of city workers, inmates, civilians, and soldiers have put sandbagging efforts into overdrive in recent days as the Assiniboine's water level in Brandon, Manitoba's second-largest city, is the highest it's been since 1882. Prime Minister Stephen Harper is to examine the extent of record-setting flooding, billed as a “once-in-300-years” event, during a helicopter flyover today.