Parts of Grand Forks, B.C., under evacuation order as floodwaters rise across Interior
CBC
The threat of flooding throughout British Columbia's Interior continued to Saturday as a combination of warm weather and rain drove higher flow in rivers and streams, putting several communities and their residents in harm's way.
According to the province's River Forecast Centre, about half of B.C. is under flood watches, warnings or advisories.
Three regions: Boundary, Cache Creek and Whiteman Creek in the Okanagan are under active flood warnings.
The Regional District of Kootenay Boundary (RDKB) was the busiest region in terms of flood activity Saturday, with the City of Grand Forks declaring a state of local emergency and issuing mandatory evacuation orders for 40 properties in and around the community.
Grand Forks, located about 530 kilometres east of Vancouver, has also added 10 properties on the city's waterfront to its evacuation alert list, as the Granby and Kettle rivers are seeing "fast-moving waters represent a significant hazard.''
Grand Forks Mayor Everett Baker said crews have been preparing all week to combat the flooding, deploying 35,000 sandbags to four strategic points within the city to mitigate the effects of high water levels.
Not all areas, however, could be protected, Baker said.
"With the rain overnight, the Kettle has certainly come up, and the Granby is slowly coming up,'' he said. "So we've had to put some evacuation notices in the areas that we cannot protect.''
Grand Forks' mandatory evacuation areas include 34 properties in the Johnson Flats neighbourhood south of the city, as well as six properties to the city's east, near Grand Forks Airport.
Mark Stephens, manager of emergency programs with RDKB asked residents in the region to subscribe to its alerting system to receive information immediately about conditions.
"I think everyone is anxious and I think people are watching the weather as closely as we are but they are also helping one another to prepare," he said.
"I think the most important thing right now is for people to stay current with information."
The Regional District of Kootenay Boundary also has active evacuation alerts for communities such as Fruitvale, Christina Lake and Midway, while properties in the community of Vallican, 660 kilometres east of Vancouver, remain under a mix of evacuation orders and alerts.
However, threat levels alleviated enough for officials to rescind the evacuation alerts in the village of Salmo, its neighbouring communities of Erie and Ymir, as well as for several properties in Duhamel Creek.
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