Flood alert from Prince George to Fraser Valley
Posted June 19, 2012 7:27 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
CHILLIWACK (NEWS1130) – The wet weather over the past few days has the Fraser River running high and people on flood alert all the way from Prince George to the Fraser Valley.
People living on about 200 properties outside of the dykes in Chilliwack have been warned their places could be flooded out.
Starlee Renton with the City of Chilliwack says water levels could get to the highest point they’ve been in 40 years.
“If water gets up to seven [meters], sandbags won’t make much of a difference in this particular area,” Renton says.
She notes there was flooding in the area last year when water reached a 5.4 level, and this year it could get all the way up to seven. Back in 1972, the last large flood, the river rose to 10.4 metres.
Flooding isn’t expected anywhere else in Chilliwack.
New Westminster is also bracing for potential flooding from a rising Fraser River. Dave Jones with the city’s Emergency Program Office says they’re watching the Braid industrial area, Queensborough and Quayside areas closely.
“We’ve got the majority of our sandbags done in the Braid area, so that’s ready to go,” he says. “As far as the other areas, we have other equipped staged, not in those areas.”
Meanwhile, 18 homes have also been ordered evacuated in Prince George.
David Campbell, head of the River Forecast Centre, says Prince George will see the river rise through today and remain reasonably high for the coming days.
Besides the evacuation order, Prince George has also issued a local state of emergency for five roads, which allows the city to issue evacuation orders if needed.
