Melting snow new danger for those fleeing to Canada from U.S

By Rod Nickel

REUTERS

 

File Photo: Aerial view of farmyards surrounded by water during spring flooding of the Red River near Morris, Manitoba, April 14, 2009. REUTERS/Fred Greenslade/File Photo

 

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) - Asylum seekers crossing in the dead of night into Canada from the United States may face a new danger in coming weeks, as heavy snowpack melts in the flood-prone U.S. northern plains and province of Manitoba.

 

The western Canadian province on Monday said the Red River, which runs from North Dakota and Minnesota north into Canada, poses a major flood risk this spring.

 

Floodwaters that spread over land will make fields hard to navigate in the dark, said Bill Spanjer, emergency coordinator for the Rural Municipality of Emerson-Franklin, Manitoba, where 143 people have crossed illegally since Jan. 1, according to police, after 32 made the trip in December.

 

"Imagine gumbo and water," Spanjer said. "It would make even rescues difficult."

 

The exodus is partly out of concern they will be deported under U.S. President Donald Trump, whose crackdown on illegal migrants and travel restrictions against some Muslim-majority countries have alarmed asylum seekers.

 

Fearing they may be returned to unsafe conditions in their native countries, asylum seekers have been travelling by car from Minneapolis, where there is a large Somali community, to North Dakota.

 

From there, they walk along railway tracks and across open fields for hours to cross an unmonitored stretch of the Canada-U.S. border near Emerson, Manitoba, about 60 miles (100 km) south of Winnipeg.

 

Bitter cold, made worse by winds whipping across the plains, have been the biggest danger during the trek, with many dressed inadequately for the elements.

 

Melting conditions in early February shrank the snowpack, but left the ground saturated and prone to floodwater running across fields if there is further rain or snow, the Manitoba government said.

 

Floods in the Red River valley are so common that towns such as Emerson sit behind high earth dikes to protect them in case the Red breaches its banks.

 

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said this month that there is a moderate to major risk of flooding from northeast North Dakota to northwest Minnesota, where the region's wettest soils and deepest snowpack conditions are found.

 

"There is a huge concern about that," said J.P. Venegas, senior manager at Welcome Place, a Winnipeg refugee agency, adding he hoped asylum seekers in the United States would hear about the risk before trekking north.

 

Manitoba Infrastructure Minister Blaine Pedersen said the government is prepared to rescue people if necessary. He could not say if the province and neighbouring states are taking any new measures because of the migration.

 

The amount of precipitation the area receives in the coming months, and the pace at which the snow melts, will be key factors in how severe flooding becomes.

 

(Reporting by Rod Nickel in Winnipeg, Manitoba; Editing by Denny Thomas and Alan Crosby)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-02-28

I did hear just last night from a visiting Canadian that during the bitter cold recently many illegals were arriving in Canada with frost bitten digits. Free medicare on arrival and cannot work as fingers missing .

"The exodus is partly out of concern they will be deported under U.S. President Donald Trump, whose crackdown on illegal migrants and travel restrictions against some Muslim-majority countries have alarmed asylum seekers."

 

This is good news!

 

Canada has a sparse population and lot's of land.

In which case, perhaps they'd be better off "fleeing" to whichever country they originally came from?

No free money for them if they go back to their original country tho !!

So, if I and the wife cross into Canada from the US illegally, will they give me a social welfare paycheck and a place to live if I claim to be a Trump asylum seeker?  Oh, wait a minute.  Can't get the wife in the US legally in order to cross into Canada illegally.  Hummm.  Never mind. 

Overpopulation and dwindling/polluted resources.   It's bad now, but will get worse in coming decades.  Not so much Canada, but other countries will be body-slammed.   

I have friends who live in the area where they are crossing.   From what I have heard, these are mostly Somalis or people of African descent.   If they entered the US as refugees, then they are not illegal immigrants.   I am guessing that some may have entered legally and have now overstayed the visa, which would result in a possible deportation -- if the home country is willing to take them.  

 

The area where they are crossing is very remote and sparsely populated so there are few services available and precious little housing or places suitable to house them.  

 

The Canadians I know from and in that area have mixed feelings.   On the one hand, they are ill-equipped to deal with even a small influx of people.   On the other, they have a fair amount of sympathy for people caught in an untenable situation.   They are equally mixed with some in favor of Treaudeau's position and others being quite unhappy.   Pretty much all of them think that Trump is the major cause of this problem and is not doing anything to help the situation. 

 

The Red River valley from North Dakota into Manitoba is a very broad and extremely flat valley -- the highest point in the valley is the overpass on the interstate.   When the River floods it can send miles and miles of water across thousands and thousands of acres of land.   It looks like a giant sea.   The water generally isn't deep but because the valley is so flat, it spreads over a great distance.   Getting anywhere can be treacherous.  

7 hours ago, lgking said:

"The exodus is partly out of concern they will be deported under U.S. President Donald Trump, whose crackdown on illegal migrants and travel restrictions against some Muslim-majority countries have alarmed asylum seekers."

 

This is good news!

 

Canada has a sparse population and lot's of land.

I used to live there. You're right, but almost everyone goes to Montreal, Toronto, or Vancouver. Saskatchewan is empty.