Morris, Manitoba: Feast or Famine?

Morris, Manitoba: Feast or Famine?

In 1974, 1976 and 1979, it cost a combined $37.6 million dollars to rebuild due to the Red River flooding. With all the flooding, it also increases the stress on the people of Morris but it can also bring the families closer together in a time of distress.

One physical characteristic that contributes to the annual flooding in the Morris Region is the drainage basin it sits in. The water from the Red River flows up from North Dakota and into Manitoba. Morris sits in the drainage basin where all the water drains into. This causes the massive and expensive flooding. The fact that Morris, Manitoba is also such a small town contributes to the flooding as well. With Morris being so small, there is less space for the flooding waters to flow to. Therefore, it takes a bigger toll on Morris. If it had more area to flow through, it would cause slightly less damage. A natural cause for the flooding is the time of the year that the flooding occurs. The snow that had been falling for most of the winter begins to melt as it nears spring. When spring hits, the rain that is falling adds to the already high water levels that are in the Red River. When it reaches Morris, the river spills its banks and floods in Morris, devastating the community.

The economic impact the flooding has on Morris, is the $1,456,600 it cost to rebuild the community after the flooding occurred. Also, during the 3 floods in the 1970’s it cost $37,600,000 in repairs. One environmental impact the flooding has on the Morris Region and its’ surroundings is the loss of vegetation and slow erosion of the nearby land. The flooding has eroded some of the land around the banks. This is evident by the cut banks appearing along the meanders of the river. This erosion of land is taking away some of the key agricultural land Morris needs in order to develop their crops and goods. This is important because Morris makes up almost half of Manitoba’s hog production and a quarter of the egg quota for Manitoba. One social impact caused by the flooding is the death toll and the stress put on the people during the floods. Four deaths have been accounted for during the 20th Century. This could begin to take a toll on the mental state of the families of Morris. Along with the building stress comes a special bond within the community. They gather together to help each other get through yet another flood and they can rely on each other time and time again in a time of despair.

One solution to solve the flooding in the Morris Region is sandbagging. Once they know when the “flooding season” is, they can start to sandbag the areas that are susceptible to a greater amount of flooding. Doing so would not only reduce the amount of water that spills into Morris, it would also reduce the chances of flooding Morris. Another solution is raising their banks so the river would have to flood more in order to overrun the banks. The last solution could be reducing the size of the drainage basin. If they were able to reduce the drainage basin, it would reduce the amount of water that is coming into Morris during a time of flooding. This would also make the cost of repairing Morris after the flood cost a little less because there was less water to damage the properties of Morris, Manitoba.

In Morris, Manitoba the people depend on each other to get through the “flooding season.” This bond that the community builds is extremely helpful when the flooding occurs. Not only has it had a billion dollar cost in repairing Morris throughout the 20th Century, but the increasing stress also increases the trust and bond the people have with each other. Not everybody survives the floods, but the ones that do, can rely on each other to get through the next one.