The yellow-shaded area on the above image from the Province of Manitoba’s official website displays the area expected to be inundated by the deliberate dike breach. The area in red is what could flood if nothing is done to the dike.

As has been the case along the lower Mississippi River in the United States, officials in southern Manitoba will deliberately inundate land and homes starting Saturday to prevent the swollen Assiniboine River from causing even more severe flooding.

Crews are scheduled to cut through a dike southeast of Portage la Prairie, Manitoba Saturday morning to ease pressure on the Assiniboine River.

The flood waters would then spill onto 55,600 acres (225 square kilometers) of rural land, on which 150 homes reside.

Officials are prepared to sacrifice those homes, since doing nothing could cause the river to flood twice as much land and 850 homes and properties, according to the Winnipeg Free Press.

The intentional dike breach was scheduled for Wednesday, but got delayed until Saturday morning due to crews being able to increase the amount of water being diverted from the river into Lake Manitoba through the Portage Diversion.

That delay is giving homeowners in the projected flood zone more time to move their possessions.

Even after the breach is made, homeowners farthest away from the dike will have additional time to prepare. Officials will minimize the release of the flood waters to prevent the 55,600 acres from becoming rapidly inundated.

The marker on this map of southern Manitoba by Google displays the location of where officials will breach the dike along the Assiniboine River.

The water will initially be released at 500 cubic feet per second (cfs), roughly enough water to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool every three minutes. That flow may get increased in 500 cfs increments until the rate reaches 3,000 cfs.

As preparations continue for the impending flooding, residents across southern Manitoba will also have to endure occasional light rain today. A much-needed spell of dry weather will commence on Saturday and will last through at least early next week.

The flooding along the Assiniboine River is the result of “above-normal winter and early spring precipitation,” AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist Jim Andrews reported earlier this week.

The Assiniboine River flows from eastern Saskatchewan to Winnipeg, where it connects to the Red River.