New flood warnings for several parts of the province as water levels slowly rise

LANGLEY (NEWS 1130) – Heavy rain in southern BC has eased but concerns about flooding remain high in dozens of communities from the Fraser Valley east to Alberta.

In Agassiz, some people are being warned about the potential high of floodwaters and to prepare accordingly for their home, property and animals. An evacuation alert or order has not been issued, but the District of Kent says if that happens, the notice will be hand-delivered door-to-door.

Sandbags are being made available at the Community Recreation & Cultural Centre at 6660 Pioneer Avenue. You’re being asked to only take what you need and to leave some for others.

---

Related Articles

Downtown Grand Forks a ‘ghost town,’ as community braces for more flooding

Thunderstorms expected to add to flood woes in south-central BC

B.C. to match funds for Red Cross flood donations as water levels rise

---

In Langley, people along the flood plain of the Fraser River are still on evacuation alert as warming temperatures push water levels higher.

Door-to-door orders will be issued to areas unprotected by dikes if or when the Mission Gauge reaches 6.3 metres and if it hits 7.5 metres in protected areas. If people are forced from their homes, roughly 260 properties will be impacted, including both homes and businesses in the unprotected area.

“This is, of course, a stressful situation for those potentially impacted, and we have seen what is happening in other parts of the province,” says Township of Langley General Manager of Engineering and Community Development Ramin Seifi. “That’s why being prepared is key. It will be much easier to cope if we plan ahead and are prepared if flooding does become a reality.”

As of Friday at 3 p.m., the gauge was at 5.9 metres.

The Langley Emergency Operations Centre is monitoring the situation and should it become necessary, you’re asked to call the Information Hotline at 604.514.HELP (4357.)

Dozens of homes in Hope under evacuation alert

Dozens of homes in Hope are under an evacuation alert, as the Fraser River continues to rise.

People in 44 properties have been told to be ready to leave at a moment’s notice.

The district says it expects localized flooding around Wardle Street and 7th Avenue and seepage in other low-lying areas.

The evacuation alerts in Hope cover the following areas:

• Wardle Street between Seventh Avenue and Allison Avenue
• The eastern portion of Tom Berry Road
• Bristol Island
• The eastern portion of Haig Station Road
• The western portion of Landstrom Road

 

Hundreds of homes are under evacuation alerts in the Township of Langley. They are on unprotected flood plain areas of Northwest Langley and Glen Valley, as well as Brae Island and McMillan Island.

Three homes in Chilliwack in the Carey Point area are under an evacuation order, while a handful of others are under alerts.

Meanwhile, water levels are causing some flooding along trails in regional parks.

Metro Vancouver says signs have been posted at Barnston Island, Brae Island, Colony Farm, Deas Island, and other areas.

The regional district is asking everyone to respect and obey the signs.

Interior being hit hard

Environment Canada has lifted a special weather statement that forecast up to 40 millimetres of rain for the Boundary and Similkameen regions, which were already coping with thousands of evacuations caused by rivers swollen from snowmelt after recent hot weather.

Despite the improved conditions, flood warnings were posted Friday for the Salmon River near Falkland and Salmon Arm, as well as the Slocan River just north of Castlegar in the same area where more than 60 properties were placed on evacuation alert on Thursday.

Flood warnings remained in effect for the Granby, Kettle and West Kettle rivers affecting communities that included Grand Forks, which saw flooding last week as water reached historically high levels.

Chris Marsh with the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary says those rivers are expected to peak by midday Saturday.

“We’re expecting to see 20 to 40 centimetres of rise in various locations across the region over the levels that the rivers were [Friday] morning, not reaching those levels that we reached last week by a long shot. But, possibly over what we saw in 2017 which is still a significant flood.”

He adds anyone thinking of using the long weekend to visit rivers and lakes in the Interior should use extra caution and watch out for eroded ground or debris in the water.

Meantime, the district adds roughly 12 members of the military had arrived to assist with sandbagging and the Central Okanagan Regional District said 45 soldiers were working to protect a West Kelowna neighbourhood threatened by rising water levels from Okanagan Lake.

To help the people affected by flooding in BC you can make a $10 donation to the Red Cross Canada by texting “BCFLOODS” to 30333.