China News Agency, Toronto, May 2 (Xinhua) -- Many towns in Manitoba, a central Canadian province, are suffering from severe spring floods, forcing thousands of affected people to temporarily leave their homes.
According to reports from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canadian Television and other media, as of the afternoon of May 2, in addition to a number of aboriginal tribes, 18 cities and towns have declared a state of emergency due to flooding.
The province issued a flood warning for the Fisher River Basin on Friday.
Relevant departments of the provincial government said that the heavy rainfall and snowfall in the affected areas in the previous month had saturated the water absorbed by the ground, and there has been significant precipitation in recent days.
Although some towns and communities have made flood control arrangements in advance, they are still unable to resist the rapidly rising water potential.
There are dykes bursting.
Some areas have issued mandatory evacuation orders for residents on May 1.
In the affected areas, some houses have been washed away, many roads connecting to the outside world have been interrupted, and rescue efforts have been hampered.
About 160 kilometers north of Winnipeg, the capital of Manitoba, the area where the Peggys Aboriginal tribe lives has fallen into a swamp.
More than 1,000 people have been forced from their homes and temporarily housed in hotels in Winnipeg.
The tribal chief said he had never seen such severe flooding.
He called on the authorities to send the army to assist in the disaster relief.
(Finish)