Storms knock out power, bring flooding to southern Manitoba Winnipeg Free Press [Video]

Thousands were without power Tuesday morning after thunderstorms swept through southern Manitoba, knocking down overhead lines and bringing a surge of floodwater that swamped some communities.

“We are all stuck in our houses right now,” Nicole Krieger said, speaking by phone from Kleefeld, where the water was deep enough to stop cars in their tracks.

“Every time we thought that the rain would stop — it slowed down a little bit — it came back out and it was like buckets were just being poured everywhere.”

Kleefeld, a town of roughly 1,900 people in the RM of Hanover, was one of dozens of southeastern Manitoba communities hammered by high wind and rain.

Inclement weather began Monday and is expected to continue through parts of the week, Environment Canada said.

“We have an awful lot of rain. Some of our communities were up to eight inches plus (of water) and we …