Projected costs of Manitoba floods to exceed $800 million

The projected costs of widespread flooding in Manitoba this past spring will be $815 million, according to the government of Manitoba’s quarterly financial report.
By the end of the second quarter, $437 million had been spent on the spring flood.
The forecast of unbudgeted expenditures for the 2011 spring flood includes funding for the Building and Recovery Action Plan and other financial assistance of $483 million to support homeowners, businesses, First Nation communities and municipalities, as well as $332 million to support livestock and crop producers for AgriRecovery and excess moisture programs.
Infrastructure expenditures are projected to require an additional $159 million. These expenditures include the restoration of bridges, roads and dikes and the construction of the outlet channel to alleviate the pressure on Lake Manitoba and Lake St. Martin.
As of Sept. 30, $32 million was spent on mitigation, restoration and floodproofing. This expenditure is expected to balloon to $180 million by the end of the fiscal year (Mar. 31, 2012).