‘It’s obliterated’: Farmers, residents reel after southwestern Manitoba storm

A state of emergency was declared in western Manitoba after the area was hit by severe rain and hail, prompting concerns over flooding. Alex Karpa reports.

KILLARNEY, Man. – About 65 to 70 per cent of Michael Bartley’s crops have been destroyed.

This year, he planted more than 5,000 acres of wheat, canola, oats and soybeans.

However, due to another unprecedented storm, more than 3,500 acres of those crops are now gone.

“It’s obliterated,” he said. “We’ve never been hit that hard before.”

The damage to Bartley’s property near Killarney, Man., which is about 200 kilometres southwest of Winnipeg, stretches for miles.

He couldn’t believe how badly the storm hit his fields.

“I would say this is one of the worst years I have ever seen because you just don’t know what’s coming,” he said.

An overnight storm on Sunday brought heavy rain, strong winds and large hail. Thousands of people were also left without power.

Farmer Jake Ayre was also hit hard by the storm. His fields are either filled with water or damaged by hail.

“Like many others in Manitoba, I am unsure just how much more farmers can take,” he said.

“What we’re seeing in the southwest area is part of a bigger pattern this year.”

Just down the road from Killarney, residents in Boissevain, Man., about 40 kilometres west of Killarney, were once again left to clean up.

Several homes and cars were damaged by the hail, and leaves littered streets and properties.

Heather Sicinski says the storm was vicious.

“It was scary at times,” she said. “First it was thunder and lightning, and we didn’t think much of it, and then when the hail started hitting the windows, we weren’t sure if it was going to come through the windows.”

It’s been a double whammy for Sicinski and her family. Just last week, her basement flooded after more than 150 millimetres of rain pummeled the community in a few hours.

Fast forward six days, and her vehicle has severe hail damage and some of the siding on her house also took a beating.

“It’s definitely been super stressful on us,” she said. “Frustration is an understatement. If it’s not one thing, it seems to be the next right now.”

Just down the road from Sicinski, Debbie Heidinger also sustained damage to her property.

Her car window was smashed and dented, and the siding on her house also was hit hard.

“There are a lot of cracks,” she said. “The hard part is the way the weather is, you don’t know if you’re going to put the money into fixing the damage because then something else comes.”

“I have been here for five years, and we have never had something like this come through,” she said.

Southwestern Manitoba has been subject to record amounts of precipitation, bringing major flooding to some areas.

Several communities, including Manitoba’s second-largest city, Brandon, have declared states of emergency due to rising waters.

Brandon Mayor Jeff Fawcett said the decision was made so the city could bring in contractors to help shore up any areas of concern.

“They’re in there right now at the golf course and they’re going to be over at our Canada Packers Soccer Complex as well. Those areas were going to be inside the two-foot freeboard from the current projection that we received on Saturday,” he said.

“So right now, they’re in there, they’re topping things up, they’re just bringing forward enough clay to get us to that comfortable two-foot freeboard and hopefully that’s all we need to do and hopefully we’ve got the time to get it done.”

Further north of Brandon, the town of Swan River continues its cleanup efforts after heavy rains flooded basements and forced some residents to evacuate.

A team from the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) arrived in the region over the weekend.

‘Not out of the woods’

Environment and Climate Change Canada meteorologist Brian Proctor says it’s been a very active weather season so far but points out that “severe weather season” is just starting.

“We’re only into the first week of July at this point, and this is peak summer severe weather season for us,” he said.

“For the next three or four weeks, we’re in the peak of that season, so I don’t see a whole lot of change going on, especially with the moisture availability out there.”

Proctor says it’s important for people to have a plan when severe weather strikes and to stay updated on weather warnings and watches.

“Watches are really issued when conditions are potentially favorable for the formation of severe weather, so all the ingredients are in place. We’re just waiting for them to form and come together,” he said.

“A warning is issued when that severe weather is imminent or ongoing, and at that point in time, it’s best to seek shelter.”