Morris braces for flood crest

The crest of the Red Riverwill arrivein Morris and Ste. Agathe on Thursday as floodwaters spread across southern Manitoba, devouring fields and isolating homes.

At about 8:30 a.m., provincial officials began moving barricadesonto Highway 75 south of Morris. A 10-kilometres section, between Morris andSaint Jean Baptiste, was officially closed at 10 a.m.

David Jacobson, the U.S. ambassador to Canada, toured the Red River Valley by helicopter with Premier Greg Selinger on Wednesday and described the flooding as being of "biblical proportions."

"If you haven't seen it before, it is almost unbelievable that you get up towards Morris and the Red River looks like one of the Great Lakes. It's enormous," Jacobson said.

He called the extent of the flooding "tragic" but noted there is hope as well.

"I have seen several instances of just perserverance and bravery and it's great to see," he said.

Jacobson was also impressed with the Red River Floodway, saying it is doing its job to protect Winnipeg from the massive amount of water.

The 48-kilometre channel divertswateraround the east side of the city fromthe inlet at St. Norbert in the south to the outlet nearLockport in the north.

The Red will crest in Winnipeg on April 30, when the crest of the Assiniboine Rivers is alsoforecast to arrive.

Once the crest has passed, sustained high flows will remain for a prolonged period all along the rivers, but "the upper range of the forecast peak for the Red River is now below 2009 levels for all points on the river," the province stated in a news release on Wednesday.