Swan River property becomes ‘roaring torrent’

WINNIPEG — Michele Poole said floodwaters hit her 10 acres of land near Swan River so fast and hard Monday she was forced to flee to higher ground — her roof.

It was there Michele and her husband, Ron Poole, had to be rescued.

The 69-year-old retiree is one of hundreds of Parkland residents affected after a flash flood brought nearly 150 millimetres of rain to the area.

Michele Poole said she was warned by her son early in the day that flooding was possible. After surveying her dry pasture, Poole was confident she’d be fine, as sand, sandbags and people to place them were already en route.

“I was the naysayer in all of this — I was the non-believer, but my son was insistent,” she said.

The sand arrived, but as a precaution, Poole started putting precious items out of reach and packed an overnight bag. It was then she realized she was in trouble.

“I walked to the pasture area, which is not very far — 100 feet from my house — and it is a roaring torrent of a river,” she said. “It’s six feet high and rushing by.”

It was then she turned around and screamed at Ron: “It’s coming! It’s coming!”

“It was a wall of water,” she said.

By the time the pair found a ladder and got it against the house, the water had arrived.

So they climbed on the bungalow’s roof.

They watched as water surrounded the property and entered the home.

A phone call to her daughter got help on the way.

A tractor with a bucket arrived, thanks to a relative, about 90 minutes later.

It was used to get Michele and Ron off the roof and to their son’s house nearby, where they joined about 20 others who were stranded.

But at least it was on higher ground and dry.

Another relative was able to show up later with a sprayer — a vehicle with massive wheels able to navigate the floodwater — and the group was brought to safety.

“Thank God for family and friends,” Poole said, noting while a lot of their belongings have been lost, what’s most important is still safe.

“I kept on repeating to myself: ‘It’s only stuff,’” she said. “My grandbabies are safe. My family is safe, my kids, my sons, everybody is safe. That’s all that matters.”

The Pooles were surprised to learn they do not have overland flooding insurance. Michele said she’s pleased Premier Wab Kinew has announced people affected by the floods will have access to provincial disaster relief.

She said she is proud of Swan River coming together in the face of adversity, but knows there’s a lot of work to be done.

“I don’t even know where they’re going to start first.”

» Winnipeg Free Press