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© CTV.ca NewsA truck creates a huge splash as it drives on a flooded road near Melita, Man.
Officials in Manitoba say that this year's flooding is now covering an "unprecedented" area of the province, with 20 areas now under a state of emergency.

Flood waters have spread across the province, overtaken roads, tested dikes and threatened to shut down businesses in the area completely.

Both the Red and Assiniboine Rivers are expected to rise by more than a foot on Saturday after an ice jam backed up water flow.

Officials in Winnipeg say rivers could see a dramatic rise to the 20-foot mark by the end of the day, but are expected to drop down on Sunday as the ice jam clears.

The rise was not expected to threaten Winnipeg's flood preparations and city officials halting sandbagging operations over the weekend. Officials said they would be monitoring water levels for any sudden changes.

Manitoba Emergency Measures Minister Steve Ashton said this is one of its worst flood situations the province has faced in 150 years, and the crest of the Red River flood is still several days away.

Although the Red River is currently cresting in Grand Forks, North Dakota, the crest is expected to cross into Canada next weekend. It's then expected to hit Winnipeg in the first days of May.

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© Moose Jaw Times-Herald-Samuel Dobrin/The Canadian PressPhil Adkins, of the Wakamow Valley Authority Advisory Council, monitors the water levels in Churchhill Park in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, on Saturday April 16, 2011
Flood waters were threatening communities across southern Manitoba over the weekend, with nearly 700 people already forced from their homes by overflowing creeks and rivers.

About 80 provincial highways and hundreds of municipal roads are closed, and some towns have been nearly isolated by the high water levels.

Melita, a small town about 300 kilometres west of Winnipeg, was saved from a lake of floodwater by a recently improved dike system. But the owners of a motel outside the dike system woke up Friday morning to water lapping against their front steps.

"When the water gets this high, it only makes sense to get a little nervous," Melita Coun. Grant Hume told CTV Winnipeg.

In Saskatchewan, water flows are up significantly along the Qu'Appelle River, 150 kilometres east of Regina. Six communities have declared local states of emergency, including the Cowessess First Nation. Flooding was expected to swamp the highway between Regina and Saskatoon in the coming days.

There's better news from southeastern Alberta, where the flood threat appears to be subsiding. Only Medicine Hat remains under a state of emergency.

While there was concern that a winter storm could further raise flood levels, officials say the snowfall is not expected to affect crest predictions, CTV Winnipeg reported.

Still, there is concern that more moisture could result in a longer period of flooding. Officials will have a better idea on Monday.