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As images of Manitoba’s flooding fill television screens, newspapers, and websites across the country, an entire generation of Manitobans think back to the spring of 1950. That year, the province witnessed one of the worst floods in its history, which almost resulted in the evacuation of the entire city of Winnipeg. This article, taken from a 1950 issue of The Beaver, describes the disaster and the thousands of resilient people who worked tirelessly to save their home, land and lives.

Click here to read about another Manitoba flood, the record-setting 1826 flood.

As bad as Manitoba's 1950 flood was, it pales in comparison to the Red River flood of 1826.

This spring Canadians can hardly turn on the television or radio without hearing about the devastating floods in Manitoba and Quebec. As local residents watch the water levels rise, many can’t help but think of the floods of 1950 and 1997, both of which are still very much alive in popular memory.

Fewer people, however, are familiar with Manitoba’s historic floods. This article, originally published in a 1950 edition of The Beaver, recounts the events of the record-setting 1826 flood. The account is taken straight from the journal of Francis Heron, a clerk at the Hudson’s Bay Company, and provides a vivid look at the relentless flood that ruined property, took lives, and almost destroyed the Red River Settlement.

You can read more about Manitoba’s historic floods, click here for an account of the 1950 flood.