Prime Minister Stephen Harper says the federal government will be sending the Canadian Armed Forces to Brandon to help in the flood fight. This support comes after a request was made by the Manitoba government.

"The safety of Manitoba families and communities remains a top priority," says Premier Greg Selinger.

Premier Selinger says he asked Prime Minister Harper for help because unsettled weather is expected to bring between 20 to 50 millimetres of rain to southern Manitoba in the next few days.

Premier Selinger says soldiers will be working to reinforce dikes along the Assiniboine River from Portage La Prairie to Headingley. Selinger says he anticipates this work will begin Monday morning and the soldiers will stack 2.7 million sandbags in three days.

The Canadian Military is assessing the need and will determine how many troops to deploy. The premier says troops could be used from CFB Shilo, reservists, or from out of province.

In the meantime, a state of local emergency was declared in Brandon by the city council on Sunday.

"We had a lot of water come up overnight," says Brandon Mayor Shari Decter Hirst. "It's coming up very quick but the dikes are also going up very quickly."

Officials say the state of emergency allows the city to deal with severe flooding and keep the people living in Brandon safe. It also keeps sightseers off of dikes and out of construction areas.

"This is a river that can have you swept to Portage La Prairie before we can raise an alarm," says Decter Hirst. "If people aren't going to exercise good judgment, we're going to do it for them."

The mayor says Brandon Police are now patrolling those areas and anyone seen near a dike could be fined.

Premier Selinger was in Brandon Sunday to assess the situation. The province is sending equipment and additional people to help fight the rising waters.

"It's been a very impressive response to an unprecedented amount of water coming in," says Selinger. "It is now your flood of the century there's no doubt about it."

Brandon is experiencing record high water levels and the forecast for more rain has some worried.

"1997 was scary, but this is way scarier," says Tony Araujo, who is afraid the dike around the city will breach and his mother-in-law's home will be flooded.

To keep hundreds of homes and businesses safe from flooding, Brandon officials say dikes are being raised another two feet and aqua dams and sandbags are being added to some areas for extra protection. People are being told to be prepared to evacuate at a moments notice if necessary, say officials.

The city will remain under the state of emergency until May 21.

The City of Brandon has put out a call for volunteers to help with sandbagging Monday, May 9. Volunteers are asked to meet by 8:00 a.m. at the former Convergy's building at 638 Princess Avenue.

Officials say transportation to and from sandbagging sites will be provided and all volunteer activity will end by 8:00 p.m.

Any volunteer under the age of 18 years will need to fill out a parent consent from at Convergy's.

- with a report from CTV's Caroline Barghout