Remembering The Flood Of The Century

Twenty years ago this spring, the Red River flowing through southern Manitoba turned into a raging sea of fury. It was the spring of 1997 when all factors lined up, creating what, to this day is commonly known as the Flood Of The Century.

Herm Martens was Reeve for the Rural Municipality of Morris back then. He says it was during the early April blizzard which dumped nearly 50 centimetres of snow, that he knew they were in for a battle that spring.

Construction of sandbag dike in St. Norbert (Photo credit: Manitoba government)As the snow turned to water, Martens says they were already thinking that a 1950 sized flood, or possibly even a 1979 sized flood would strike. They started to order sand and sandbags.

Martens says following the flood of 1979, some homeowners built ring dikes around their properties. These dikes were constructed at a level to withstand another flood of that magnitude, should one ever hit. But he says it didn't take too many years without a flood before some homeowners started removing their dikes, choosing a better-looking property rather than a flood proof property.

By mid-April, it was becoming more and more clear what was to come. Footage from Grand Forks April 18, showed dikes failing. Residents knew that was only 160 kilometres south of Morris and all that water would need to make its way through the Red River Valley. By April 19 there was an evacuation order for Grand Forks and one day later a large fire broke out there, engulfing 60 apartment units and 11 buildings.

As the water kept rising that spring, Martens kept fighting for his ratepayers. He says he won't soon forget that for 44 straight days he never left the office before midnight and always returned the next morning before six o'clock.

"I don't know how I physically managed that, but that's what I did for that length of time," he recalls.

Martens says it was a very demanding period, where nobody knew exactly what to do, decisions were sometimes made on the fly, and everybody tried their best.

Aerial image of flooding around the Morris ring dike (Photo credit: Manitoba government)On April 22, the province issued a State of Emergency for the Red River Valley. Martens says he was left with a major decision to make. Flood officials wanted him to announce a mandatory evacuation for the entire Rural Municipality of Morris. But Martens says it didn't make sense for residents of Lowe Farm, Kane and Sperling to be forced to leave. And, residents of Rosenort wanted the opportunity to stay back to protect their properties.

"Do I listen to the government forcing me or do I listen to my taxpayers," says Martens.

In a move that wasn't popular with flood officials around the table, Martens opted not to sign the evacuation order.

"I don't ever regret doing it because my people liked that, I stood up for them and it didn't make sense to move out," he says. "We kept Rosenort dry and the people in Sperling didn't move just for the sake of some bureaucrat saying it's time to move."

By April 27, the river crested at Emerson. Two days later, 3,000 military personnel were deployed to Manitoba and then about one week later the river crested in Winnipeg. Once the water receded, then came the cleanup. And while many homes were saved, not everyone shared that same fortune.

Soldiers tossing sandbags during the flood (Photo credit: Manitoba government)Martens says it was extremely difficult to learn of neighbours, friends or ratepayers who lost everything. He recalls one individual in particular who said they did everything possible to try and save their home. In the end, the flood waters claimed victory and now all that was left of their personal belongings, including wedding photos and Christmas presents, lay in a garbage heap in their front yard.

"That hurts, that tugs on anybody's heart strings and to watch that happen is extremely difficult," says Martens. "You just cry with them that's all you can do."

Martens says those 44 days in the spring of 1997 were not enough to scare him out of office. And in fact, it wouldn't be the last major flood he would fight as Reeve. But he says nobody died that spring. And even though those events created considerable emotional stress on many, the flood proofing that happened around homes and communities in the following months and years, helped prepare them for future flood events.