Voluntary evacuation ordered for Delta Beach

The reeve of the rural municipality of Portage la Prairie, Kam Blight, said water is covering Hackberry East Road at the East Beach, prompting the voluntary evacuation order.

Blight says the voluntary evacuation could be ended if the high winds stirring up waves on Lake Manitoba and putting properties at risk, die down.

Residents, who have been working for weeks to raise dikes to protect properties, are preparing to leave their homes.

Ken Kucharskym, who lives on the west side of the beach, is packed and ready to go "[Water] is coming across some spots on people's property with the waves coming over the lake. There's one trailer where the water is running right beside and across the road."

In Twin Lakes Beach, north of Delta Beach, Fred Pisclevich's home is surrounded by sandbags.

He says the flood barriers he put up on his shoreline this weekend are being battered by the waves.

"I was very surprised when I woke up this morning to see the waves on the lake, but I expected a little wind, but I didn't expect to see the lake reacting the way that it is. This is a real problem," he said. "The water is splashing over at my neighbour's wall. The lake is just too high. There's just too much water in it to sustain any power from it," he said.

If the wind gets any worse, the three kilometre section of the beach he lives on will be devastated, he said. Water is starting to breach the lake bank and run behind homes in some spots, he said.