Flood - One, Dike - Nothing

Last night, we arrived home from our annual Easter trip. I checked my messages, as I always do before I start to unpack. BAD NEWS. My parents’ cottage had water up to the porch. This came as quite a shock to them since this was their first spring as owners of the property.

Earlier that day, my parents and brother decided to take a drive to the cottage to see how much ice was still on the lake. They’d heard of ice jams causing problems in the town of Selkirk (Manitoba), but didn’t think of how those same ice jams might affect the lake behind their cottage.

When they first got to the cottage, there was some minor flooding in their backyard. Within an hour, things had gotten progressively worse. My parents and brother realized this water wasn’t from winter thaw. There was a breach in the dike and the river was flowing into their yard. They didn’t know what to do, so they left in search of friends to help sandbag.






Unfortunately, they were unable to locate anyone. Not surprising considering this was Easter Sunday. When they returned, three hours later, they were no longer able to pull into their drive-way. The water was rushing through their yard and across the road. My brother went in the frigid river and saw the water was now up to the door. Deciding it was too late to save their cottage, the three of them went home disgusted. How could the same piece of land that had given them so many wonderful times last summer cause them so much grief less than a year later?

As it turns out, my brother returned this morning to inspect the damages. Apparently, over night, neighbors had gotten together and sandbagged the breach in the dyke. The water receded once again, but nobody’s going to feel safe until the ice jams have melted and the river levels have dropped.

About the photos:

The first two photos were taken within the hour of their first visit. Note: The fire pit is usually separated from the water by the dike and a beach. The dock is a floating dock that's supposed to be on dry land until we put it back into the water.


The last three photos were taken three hours later. The drive-way looks like a river, and the fire pit is completely under water.











Unfortunately, I don’t have photos from today, but my brother said the fire pit is about two inches above water now. Apparently, the neighbors who sandbagged last night saved my parents' cottage and their own.

Have you ever experienced flooding?