Flood warning in effect for area around The Pas, Man.
High risk of ice jamming on a northern Manitoba river this weekend has the province warning around 75 homes in the area could be hit with some level of flooding.
More than 100 people living in Opaskwayak Cree Nation could be affected, plus 60 people living in the nearby rural municipality of Kelsey, if ice jamming happens on the Carrot River, the province said Thursday.
The RM of Kelsey is about 550 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg.
"Conditions in this area will be monitored closely, because the ice is still intact on the Saskatchewan River as waters flow in from the Carrot River," said Doug McMahon, assistant deputy minister of water management and structures with Manitoba Infrastructure.
McMahon said the province is working with the communities.
Assiniboine River crests on Thursday
In the southern part of the province, flows on the Assiniboine River crested in Portage la Prairie on Thursday, McMahon said.
The Portage Diversion is in operation to manage flows, but McMahon said it is nearing capacity and crews have completed preparations to deal with emergency flows just in case.
A flood watch remains in effect for the area of the river between Portage la Prairie and Headingley, Man., and a flood warning is in place for the Upper Assiniboine River from the Shellmouth Dam to Holland, he added.
Forecast rain over the long weekend isn't expected to lead to much runoff, McMahon said, although there is a risk wind will create shoreline pile-up on some Manitoba lakes, including Lake Manitoba, so the province is warning property owners to take valuables off the shore.
The number of evacuees in the province is stable at 330, with around 200 of those people coming from Peguis First Nation, said Lee Spencer, Manitoba's assistant deputy minister of emergency measures.
"That number's been fairly stable for the last few days now and it's a sign that things are starting to stabilize," Spencer said Thursday.
The number of local states of emergency also hasn't changed and sits at 17.
