Hundreds of homes in Emerson, Manitoba flooded during the last weekend in May. A freak storm battered Winnipeg and the surrounding area with more than 100 millimetres of rain in less than 6 hours, causing flooding that extended from The Pas to Emerson. The rains have been described as a “one in 50-year event.”
“I don’t think there’s a home in town that isn’t affected,” said Emerson Mayor Wayne Arseny, who noted that Highway 200 was under 15 feet of water. A power outage meant pumps couldn’t be used to control the flooding. Farmers’ fields are sodden with water. Damage to crops is not yet known.
Emerson, near the Manitoba-North Dakota border and on the east bank of the Red River, was one of the hardest hit communities. So many homes in Emerson have been flooded that the town of 700 has been placed under a state of emergency and the province’s Disaster Financial Assistance Program has been triggered to compensate homeowners for flood damage. More heavy rains this past weekend continued to batter the area.
Keith Needham, pastor of Emerson Baptist Church has been busy reaching out to those in the church and community who have homes damaged by the flooding and sewer backup. He has found several families in the church and the community who have sustained heavy water damage that will require expensive repairs and replacement household items not covered by insurance. Many families are not covered by insurance since the rainfall is considered sewer backup rather than flooding.
The greatest prayer need right now is for money to provide materials for rebuilding. The Mennonite Disaster Relief Agency is willing to coordinate and provide labour if money can be found to purchase the building and reconstruction materials. Pastor Needham has indicated that such cooperation among churches would be a witness to the community of God’s people working together.
Please pray for Emerson Baptist Church, its leaders and members as they reach out to the community to help clean up and meet both the physical and spiritual needs of the community. Pray also that the church can easily fix the water damage in its own building, which affected a classroom and bathroom, as well as the parsonage, which took on 2 feet of water.
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