Close X
Saturday, January 11, 2025
ADVT 
National

Evacuation alerts lifted as flood risk recedes across B.C.'s South Coast

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 02 Feb, 2024 10:57 AM
  • Evacuation alerts lifted as flood risk recedes across B.C.'s South Coast

Pemberton resident Dean Matt's anxiety has waxed and waned this week with the levels of the swollen Lillooet River on B.C.'s South Coast.

Matt, owner of a roofing company, said his property at the river's edge had been under threat earlier this week.

But he and others received a reprieve Thursday when the Village of Pemberton rescinded evacuation alerts for several dozen properties whose residents had previously been told to be ready to leave on short notice.

British Columbia's River Forecast Centre lifted a flood warning for the Lillooet and Squamish rivers, saying flows remain high but rainfall and snowmelt are tapering off.

"It was kind of stressful," said Matt. "That was the Monday or Tuesday night where it was pretty well full, the river.

"We got a good break in the weather on Tuesday, I think it was, so that pretty much saved us. If we wouldn't have got that break, it would have been scary."

The river forecast centre also downgraded flood advisories across the province's South Coast as a stretch of warm, wet weather eased, with forecasts returning closer to seasonal temperatures by the weekend.

"Based on forecasts and current observations on the ground, things are currently looking favourable," said Pemberton emergency program officer Sarah Toews. 

"We're cautiously optimistic that the kind of worst impacts have passed."

Environment Canada has also lifted a rainfall warning for the Howe Sound area, including Squamish.

A flood watch remains in effect for the Sproat and Somass rivers on Vancouver Island, while lower-level streamflow advisories cover the rest of the South Coast.

Avalanche Canada, meanwhile, said conditions remained "very dangerous" in alpine areas throughout the Sea to Sky corridor, including mountains surrounding Whistler, Squamish and Pemberton.

"Hunting for dry snow in the alpine will put you closest to harm's way," said the latest bulletin posted by the agency for that region.

Environment Canada said another round of daily high-temperature records fell across southwestern B.C. on Wednesday, with West Vancouver reaching 17.9 C, almost three degrees higher than the previous Jan. 31 record set in 1993.

The River Forecast Centre said rain from the warm air system is expected to ease Friday, and cooler conditions should arrive by the weekend.

The forecast is welcome news for Matt, whose property didn't end up getting flooded or evacuated, although he said the golf courses down the road were partially underwater before the river receded.

"I'm sure they're going to have quite a cleanup in the spring," Matt said. "But overall, things are kind of back to normal now."

An earlier update from the River Forecast Centre said rainfall since last Friday ranged from 70 to more than 500 millimetres across the South Coast, while unseasonable warmth added between 75 and 150 millimetres of snowmelt earlier this week.

 

MORE National ARTICLES

Rules were followed in alleged Islamophobic incident involving U.K. MP: Air Canada

Rules were followed in alleged Islamophobic incident involving U.K. MP: Air Canada
Air Canada says its staff followed procedure when it delayed a British MP for extra questions in what has been described as an Islamophobic incident during a recent diplomatic trip to Canada. Mohammad Yasin was pulled aside for questioning at London’s Heathrow Airport while other lawmakers he was travelling with were allowed through, and was stopped again at airports in Montreal and Toronto.

Rules were followed in alleged Islamophobic incident involving U.K. MP: Air Canada

Food Banks Canada report paints dire picture of Canada-wide affordability crisis

Food Banks Canada report paints dire picture of Canada-wide affordability crisis
There are many heartbreaking tales behind the record number of Canadians using food banks as they struggle with high inflation and mounting housing costs, says a Vancouver food bank executive. More and more people are accessing its services each year, and with greater frequency than in the past, Boulter said, as low wages and high rents squeeze people between inflation and other rising costs.  

Food Banks Canada report paints dire picture of Canada-wide affordability crisis

B.C. moves up zero-emission vehicle target, with 100-per-cent sales goal by 2035

B.C. moves up zero-emission vehicle target, with 100-per-cent sales goal by 2035
The British Columbia government is taking steps to accelerate the transition to zero-emission vehicles to meet its 100-per-cent sales target five years sooner than initially planned. If passed, the legislation to amend the Zero-Emission Vehicles Act would increase access and choice for electric vehicle buyers, as new provincial funding expands the charging network, a statement from the Energy Ministry said.

B.C. moves up zero-emission vehicle target, with 100-per-cent sales goal by 2035

More than half of B.C. businesses in survey reported cyberattacks in past year

More than half of B.C. businesses in survey reported cyberattacks in past year
Global accounting firm KPMG says cybercrime is a growing issue in Metro Vancouver and on Vancouver Island. The firm says a survey of 700 Canadian businesses conducted last month revealed that more than half of those in Vancouver and on the island had been hit by cyberattacks in the last year.

More than half of B.C. businesses in survey reported cyberattacks in past year

B.C. helicopter lands safely after being hit by lightning, Helijet says

B.C. helicopter lands safely after being hit by lightning, Helijet says
A commercial helicopter with 14 people on board landed safely in Victoria on Tuesday after it was hit by lightning. Rick Hill, the vice-president of Helijet, said the aircraft was at about 1,200 metres when it was hit by lightning, the two pilots on board took the chopper down to below the clouds and then landed without trouble in Victoria a few minutes later. 

B.C. helicopter lands safely after being hit by lightning, Helijet says

84 year old struck in New Westminster

84 year old struck in New Westminster
Police in New Westminster are looking for witnesses and dash-cam video after a hit-and-run left an 84-year-old man with serious injuries. Police say officers found the man who had been hit by a driver in the parking lot of a gas station at the intersection of Sixth Avenue and Eighth Street around 8 p-m Monday night.

84 year old struck in New Westminster