Close X
Wednesday, January 15, 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But he and others received a reprieve Thursday when the Village of Pemberton rescinded evacuation alerts for several dozen properties whose residents had previously been told to be ready to leave on short notice.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

Canada's inflation rate jumps to 4%, making the BoC's next rate decision harder

Canada's inflation rate jumps to 4%, making the BoC's next rate decision harder
Canada's inflation rate jumped to four per cent last month, as economists warn the latest consumer price index report spells bad news for the Bank of Canada.  Statistics Canada released its latest inflation reading on Tuesday, which shows the annual rate rose from 3.3 per cent in July, marking the second consecutive month inflation has risen.

Canada's inflation rate jumps to 4%, making the BoC's next rate decision harder

Climate, development, India top of mind as Trudeau travels to UN General Assembly

Climate, development, India top of mind as Trudeau travels to UN General Assembly
 The day before departing for New York, Trudeau rocked the House of Commons with "credible allegations" linking agents of India's government to the deadly shooting this past June of a Sikh leader in Surrey, B.C.  It's a striking contextual backdrop for the week ahead at the United Nations, a place where aspirational visions of a prosperous and peaceful future often crash headlong into stark political realities. 

Climate, development, India top of mind as Trudeau travels to UN General Assembly

India expels Canadian diplomat after Canada links Indian agents to Sikh leader death

India expels Canadian diplomat after Canada links Indian agents to Sikh leader death
India struck back at Canada early Tuesday after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau linked agents of India's government to the shooting death of a Sikh leader near Vancouver. A statement from India's Ministry of External Affairs says an unnamed senior Canadian diplomat has been asked to leave India within the next five days.

India expels Canadian diplomat after Canada links Indian agents to Sikh leader death

Canada told allies before sharing allegations about India over B.C. killing: Trudeau

Canada told allies before sharing allegations about India over B.C. killing: Trudeau
Trudeau revealed in the House of Commons on Monday that Canadian intelligence services are investigating "credible" information about "a potential link" between India's government and the death of British Columbia Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Trudeau said India's government "needs to take this matter with the utmost seriousness" but would not say whether it is co-operating.

Canada told allies before sharing allegations about India over B.C. killing: Trudeau

Eby 'deeply disturbed' by CSIS briefing on Nijjar killing in Surrey, B.C.

Eby 'deeply disturbed' by CSIS briefing on Nijjar killing in Surrey, B.C.
British Columbia Premier David Eby says he's received a briefing from Canada's spy agency about the "assassination" of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar and he's "deeply disturbed" by what he was told. He says he's calling on the federal government to share all information related to ongoing foreign interference and "transnational organized crime threats."  

Eby 'deeply disturbed' by CSIS briefing on Nijjar killing in Surrey, B.C.

Attack on 2 shopkeepers in Chinatown: VPD

Attack on 2 shopkeepers in Chinatown: VPD
A 50-year-old man has been charged with assault after what Vancouver police say was a violent attack on two shopkeepers in the Chinatown neighbourhood. Police say the married couple, who are both in their 70s, were working in their shop last Thursday when the suspect entered and began causing a disturbance.   

Attack on 2 shopkeepers in Chinatown: VPD