The swollen Red River crested earlier than expected in Winnipeg on Friday, bringing the water to the second highest level in almost 40 years.

Levels reached 6.2 metres, which has not been seen since the floodway began operating in 1968.

The water is still about 1.2 metres below the record high in 1997, which caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage in Manitoba.

The level reached Friday is also just below the flood level of Manitoba's fourth worst flood, which came in 1996.

A second crest is expected to arrive next week, according to forecast officials.

About 200 homes were at risk of flooding as the river crept up its banks on Friday, but residents were prepared ahead of time and the damage was minimal, said Chuck Sanderson, executive director of the Manitoba Emergency Measures Organization.

"The crest went through approximately 200 homes that were at risk, and they were sandbagged and that activity was very successful and now we are waiting for that river to start gradually subsiding," Sanderson told CTV Newsnet.

The City of Winnipeg told about 170 homeowners to lay sandbags around their homes.

So far, the flooding has collapsed two small bridges and forced the closure of several roads. There aren't any reports of flooded basements yet.

Water has saturated fields in rural municipalities in southern Manitoba. Officials closed a ring dike in the town of St. Adolphe and dikes in Emerson and Morris are expected to close in the next few days.

The second crest coming from the United States is predicted to be lower if the rain holds off, but Sanderson said emergency and municipal officials are now focusing their efforts on preparing for that threat.

"We've got excellent preparatory work happening at the municipal level in all of those communities along the Red River as the next crest comes along," Sanderson said.

Officials may close Highway 75 from Winnipeg to the U.S. border by the middle of next week.

On Friday, city crews continued delivering sandbags to homeowners closest to the Red River.

Claudia Derkoz, whose backyard is almost completely submerged in five feet of water, got help from local schoolchildren fortifying her dike in preparation for the second crest.

"It would be kind of overwhelming if we had to try to do it on our own," she told CTV Winnipeg.

"We are encouraging homeowners to continue to build the dikes up to the elevation on the stake. Even though the first peak has passed, we have to continue to get ready for the next peak," said city official Barry McBride.

City officials said there is a one-in-10 chance the level on the stake -- 6.4 metres -- will be reached. They are urging people and boaters to stay away from the strong-current river.

Provincial officials have warned the river could rise up to four metres higher than normal summer levels this year.

The Manitoba Emergency Measures Organization said this spring's flood won't have as much impact as the 1996 flood because of $150 million worth of investment that has gone into the Red River Valley.

In 1997, waters reached 7.46 metres. The event, which locals call the flood of the century, forced 28,000 Manitobans from their homes and caused an estimated $400 million in damage.

With reports from CTV Winnipeg and files from The Canadian Press