Heavy rainfall on Tuesday morning has closed roads and caused flooding in several communities in Manitoba.

The town of Blumenort was one of the towns hit by the rain. Amber Neufeld said the rain started at 7am and never stopped.

“It looks like a beach here,” Neufeld said of the waves that rolled into her driveway on Tuesday.

Crews have closed Rockridge Drive in the city due to the flooding. Neufeld said firefighters had to help remove a vehicle that was stranded in the flooded street.

Flooding in the streets of Blumenort, Man. on September 17, 2024. (Amber Neufeld)

“I’ve never seen such heavy rain,” she said.

Neufeld had to move her vehicle into the garage because of the rain, but was lucky her house didn’t flood. Others on the street weren’t so lucky.

“A guy down the street got a squeegee from the fire department because his basement was flooded,” she said. “Two doors down, their garage is flooded.”

Stephen Berg, a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada, said southern Manitoba has been inundated with rain over the past 36 hours. He said Ste. Pierre-Jolys has received 167 millimetres of rain, while Steinbach has received 156 mm, Elma 138 mm and Winkler 133 mm. Over the past two days, the Ste Anne area has received 210 mm of rain.

Berg warned motorists to be careful when driving through flooded streets.

“If you have to go somewhere, it’s best to try to avoid roads with water. It can be slippery, but also aquaplaning. That’s a pretty dangerous situation for traffic,” he said.

Berg said some more showers are expected later in the week, but they won’t be as heavy as Tuesday’s.

Jim Funk, Reeve of the RM of Hanover, noted that several communities, including Kleefeld, Randolph and Mitchell, were hit by the rain, with several basements flooded.

“You can’t prepare for that much rain in that short a time, no matter what you do,” he said.

Funk said the RM is helping homeowners by pumping water off the streets and out of homes and providing sandbags to people who want to use them.

Flooding in the streets of Blumenort, Man. on September 17, 2024. (Amber Neufeld)