Flood Questions Need Answers

Assiniboine River levels at Brandon were much higher than first predicted

Steinbach MLA Kelvin Goertzen feels there are some questions that need to be answered about this year's flooding in southern Manitoba.

The deputy Conservative leader says water levels on the Red River were overestimated, but of greater

concern, they were underestimated along the Assiniboine River. Goertzen(right) explains, "The biggest question is around forecasting, really. I mean, the government has been saying they've been preparing for the flood since November of last year. But they were really caught by surprise about the flooding on the Assiniboine. And, we have questions around that because the best way to be able to fight a flood is to know what's coming and the forecasting just seemed really off this year." He has heard from people who say one day they were told they were going to be okay and the next day were told they were going to get flooded if they didn't build a 4 foot dike.

Goertzen adds the government will also have to be proactive in learning lessons from the Assiniboine River flood and taking appropriate flood proofing actions. He says, "There's no doubt about that.  You know, you learn a lot for every flood event, and, not only whether it's forecasting, but also where your flood defences aren't as strong as you'd want them to be."

Goertzen says, as soon as water levels are down and all people are out of danger, the Conservatives will press the government for answers about the inaccurate flood forecasts and improvements to floodproofing.