Man the Sandbags, Manitoba

WINNIPEG — Nobody’s pushing the panic button in Manitoba this year. Yet.

But officials are calling for increased risk of flooding along the Red, Souris, Pembina, Saskatchewan, Qu’Appelle and Assiniboine rivers as well as in the Interlake area.

A heavy March snowfall and an above-average snowpack with a high water content are contributing to the elevated risk.

Those were the over-arching messages delivered Tuesday morning by the province’s minister of infrastructure and transportation Steve Ashton in his spring flood prediction.

Ashton said experts believe the 2013 flood will echo the 2009 flood, which wasn’t nearly as bad as other years. In 2011, flooding cost the province $1.2 bilion in disaster relief and compensation. The 2009 floods cost $60 million.

Some communities in southern Manitoba have already started prepping for the annual washouts.

As Minister Ashton said, “This is Manitoba. We’re not taking anything for granted. It’s clear we’re going to be into flooding this spring.”