The Manitoba government is warning that a long, snowy winter could lead to a spring of moderate to major flooding across the province that could begin as early as next week.

Emergency Measures Minister Steve Ashton said Tuesday the province is preparing for flooding similar to that in 2009, when about 500 homes were destroyed and damage costs hit $60 million.

"No one is pressing any panic button," Ashton told reporters in Winnipeg.

"Our key goal through the upcoming weeks and month is to minimize impacts on people. There probably will be evacuations so there will be impacts at that level, but we are going to do whatever we can in terms of using all the tools available to us to minimize that impact."

Ashton said the flooding is not expected to be as bad as in 2011, when thousands of residents had to flee their homes along the Assiniboine River, Lake Manitoba and Lake St. Martin. The costs associated with that flooding were more than $1 billion.

Ashton did sound a note of caution, however, that residents should be prepared for the flood forecast to change.

“So we’re not taking this forecast and assuming that there couldn’t be other scenarios develop,” Ashton said.

CTV Winnipeg’s Caroline Barghout said this year’s flood forecast can be partly attributed to the “colder, longer winter, and we are expecting a quick melt.”

Officials warned that some flooding could begin as early as next week, with the additional concern of overland flooding as snow begins to melt, Barghout said. Snowfall in March was 200 per cent more than usual in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and North Dakota, which led officials to change their flood forecast.

Barghout said the areas officials are most concerned about this spring are the Fisher River and Peguis First Nations, which are about 200 kilometres north of Winnipeg. Both regions were hit by severe flooding in 2009, and remain vulnerable.

"We're going to be watching the situation on the Fisher River very closely," Ashton said. "There are some scenarios where there could potentially be significant evacuations and a significant need to protect homes."

Ashton also pointed out that some residents in rural communities north of Winnipeg such as St. Clements and St. Andrews, which were hit hard in 2009, were bought out and have since moved.

Preparations are underway across the province, with three amphibious icebreakers ready to break up ice jams to keep river water flowing. The capital itself is protected by the Red River Floodway, which diverts water around the city.

In North Dakota, the starting point for river water that flows into Manitoba, officials announced plans to fill one million sandbags to have at the ready. The North Dakota National Guard said more than 2,000 soldiers and airmen are on standby.

With files from The Canadian Press and a report from CTV Winnipeg’s Caroline Barghout