Plan of flood controlled Manitoba seems to work

VANCOUVER  - plan of Manitoba to open a dam on the Assiniboine River, swollen to avoid a potentially catastrophic unexpected flood seems to work, officials in the province of the Canadian Prairies, said Sunday.

Water flows through the Cup in a dike is the community of Portage la Prairie, on Saturday, and spreads on the flat land of southern Manitoba have been farmers would normally be planting of wheatcanola, and vegetables.

Officials estimated Sunday the flood would cover up to 72 miles square (180 square km) of land in the coming days, but it is towards the bottom of the 90 miles square (225 square km), that they had found Saturday.

The release helped eased pressure on other dikes along the River swollen by rain that the authorities had feared would fail and flooding more than 520 miles square (1 300 square km).

"Today, even if more water is downward the Assiniboine River, downstream of the controlled release water levels have not increased," the provincial government said Sunday.

The threat of flooding has forced more than 3,300 residents of Manitoba their home, including 1,300 in Brandon, second largest city of the province, which is upstream from where the dam was opened.

Approximately 1,500 military troops were called to help the local volunteers with the operations of sandbag.