Dauphin resident Guy Bordian says it’s “bittersweet” to be in the cleanup phase now that floodwaters that ravaged the western Manitoba city on Wednesday have largely receded.
On Thursday, Bordian was helping rip out carpets and clean out a basement that was filled with floodwater.
“Obviously, a little frustrat[ing] that the water got to the level it did. And obviously, now we’re just left with this cleanup,” he told CBC News.
The city declared a state of emergency Wednesday because of rapidly worsening flooding after rain overwhelmed the province’s Parkland region earlier this week. The city said it had received about 115 millimetres of rain since Sunday night.
The Dauphin Regional Health Centre, which also serves outlying areas in the region, was evacuated after the basement flooded and knocked out power Wednesday.
Bordian says he worries what the impacts will be for older residents and patients from the hospital, as well as for other people hauling heavy items from flooded basements.
“What happens if somebody has a heart attack?”
Trina Slate โ CEO of Prairie Mountain Health, which oversees the health centre โ says a lack of power at the Dauphin hospital has led to a lack of diagnostic services and “very limited” health services generally within the city.
But a triage clinic has been set up near the health centre if any of the city’s nearly 10,000 residents need to be seen by a doctor or nurse, she said. Emergency services can then determine the “nearest and most appropriate emergency department” to send them if required.
“Anyone needing any emergent surgical service would be transferred to Brandon as a priority,” Slate said at a news conference Thursday.
When the hospital will reopen is unclear. There is water in the basement, where the building’s main power source lies, she said. Services at the city’s two personal care homes and other health-care buildings near the hospital were uninterrupted by the flooding.
Some health-care workers in Dauphin are also being asked to work in other parts of the province, including Brandon, Slate said.
Equipment likely destroyed
Manitoba Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara said the 54 patients evacuated from the Dauphin hospital have all arrived safely at other health centres across the province, with 24 being sent to the Brandon Regional Health Centre.
Kristen Peleshok, director of health services at Prairie Mountain Health, says the situation has been challenging for patients, families and staff members.
“We understand that staff here, their houses are underwater as well. Some of them have a lot of basement flooding,” she told reporters Thursday.
Peleshok says they will keep the triage clinic, which can see up to four patients at a time, open as long as needed.
“We needed to keep something open here in Dauphin due to the size of the population, due to the size of the catchment area.”
Steve Geletchuk, emergency and security manager for Prairie Mountain Health, says work is being done to minimize the impact on the facility and the community.
He’s hoping the rain stays away.
“We’re still working on getting water out of the basement and trying to preserve as much infrastructure as we can,” he told reporters. “There’s a lot of specialized equipment that’s [probably] destroyed.”
Premier Wab Kinew says his government wants to build back better.
“As we go into the disaster financial assistance stage, we want to build resilient infrastructure,” he told reporters in Dauphin on Thursday. “It’s not just about building back the same thing that we had before.”
Dauphin Mayor David Bosiak agreed with that idea for the flooded hospital.
“It’s a problem because the generators are in the basement, and so, the backup power was compromised as well. So, it’s complicated,” he said.
The city is largely in the cleanup phase, Bosiak said.
“As you can see, the water came fast, and it went fast. And so now, it’s mostly a cleanup,” he said.
“We still have some basement flooding in some areas .โฆ But our reports this morning were that most of them have been cleaned out.”
Manitoba has requested federal help to deal with severe flooding after parts of the province were inundated with rain, cutting people off from their homes, hospitals and loved ones.
Dauphin fire Chief Cameron Abrey says there was no water by the fire hall when his crews were sent to a call around 8 p.m. Tuesday, but there was a foot of water outside the station when they returned about half an hour later.
Abrey says there were about a dozen people evacuated at the height of the flood, mainly from a campground. More than 60 volunteers from across the province also helped his department.
“There’s going to be a lot of cleanup involved,” he said. “So, if you’re able to just lend some emotional support or a strong back to help move some furniture and stuff for those homes that are affected, that would be the best thing you could do.”
Anna Toews said she rushed to look outside after her mom woke her up with news of the flooding after 6 a.m. Wednesday.
“The street here outside of our house was a river. It was quite literally a river. It was all the way up the steps to our door,” she told CBC News on Thursday.
They woke their neighbour up before checking on their own basement, where the water began to collect up to their knees, she said.
“It was filling with water pretty steadily, but we didn’t realize it would fill so fast and so deep.”
While the basement is dry for the most part, Toews said water is still trickling in slowly.
But she’s thankful for the community’s response, saying neighbours went door to door offering sump pumps and other supplies.
“I think the biggest thing is just check[ing] on your neighbours,” she said. “I’m just thankful that we’re all OK.”
The waters have receded after record rainfall filled streets and flooded basements in Dauphin, forcing the Manitoba city’s hospital to close. Residents now face cleaning up the muddy remains.
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