Close X
Sunday, December 22, 2024
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But he and others received a reprieve Thursday when the Village of Pemberton rescinded evacuation alerts for several dozen properties whose residents had previously been told to be ready to leave on short notice.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

Eby invokes Taylor Swift as B.C. launches services to crack down on intimate images

Eby invokes Taylor Swift as B.C. launches services to crack down on intimate images
British Columbia Premier David Eby says the recent sharing of fake intimate images of pop star Taylor Swift proves no one is immune from such "attacks," as the province launches new services to get images taken down and go after perpetrators for damages. The launch of the services on Monday in conjunction with the Civil Resolution Tribunal comes on the same day the province's Intimate Images Protection Act comes into force.

Eby invokes Taylor Swift as B.C. launches services to crack down on intimate images

Muslim council cancels meeting with Trudeau over Liberal stance on hate crimes, Gaza

Muslim council cancels meeting with Trudeau over Liberal stance on hate crimes, Gaza
The National Council of Canadian Muslims has cancelled a scheduled meeting today with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, saying there's no point in speaking with him. Chief executive Stephen Brown says that's because of Trudeau's response to the situation in the Gaza Strip and his government's failure to deliver legislation and funding to prevent hate crimes.

Muslim council cancels meeting with Trudeau over Liberal stance on hate crimes, Gaza

Pedestrian hit in Surrey

Pedestrian hit in Surrey
Police in Surrey say they're investigating after a pedestrian was hit on a city street. RCMP say officers responded to a call around six this morning near Scott Road and Nordel Way.

Pedestrian hit in Surrey

Two Canadians charged in U.S. plot to kill Iranian defector

Two Canadians charged in U.S. plot to kill Iranian defector
The U.S. Department of Justice has charged two Canadians and an Iranian in a murder-for-hire plot targeting two people in Maryland. An indictment unsealed today says Naji Sharifi Zindashti, Damion Patrick John Ryan and Adam Richard Pearson conspired to kill the two unnamed people, one of whom was an Iranian defector.

Two Canadians charged in U.S. plot to kill Iranian defector

B.C. River Forecast Centre issues flood warning for Sumas River, tributary of Fraser

B.C. River Forecast Centre issues flood warning for Sumas River, tributary of Fraser
British Columbia's River Forecast Centre has issued an upgraded flood warning for the Sumas River, a tributary of the Fraser River east of Vancouver, as the latest round of atmospheric rivers deluge the province's South Coast. An updated bulletin says flows in the Sumas River are not anticipated to pose a hazard for flooding into Sumas Prairie, an area hit hard by rainstorms and flooding that swamped much of southwestern B.C. in November 2021. 

B.C. River Forecast Centre issues flood warning for Sumas River, tributary of Fraser

B.C. hops farm, director fined over $1M after alleged fraud: securities commission

B.C. hops farm, director fined over $1M after alleged fraud: securities commission
A hops farm company and its director have been ordered to pay more than $1 million over an alleged fraud that a B.C. Securities Commission panel described as "near to the most serious type of fraud possible in an investment context." A statement from the commission says Fraser Valley Hop Farms Inc. and its sole named director, Alexander William Bridges, must pay a combined $498,273, representing the amount they obtained as a result of their alleged wrongdoing.  

B.C. hops farm, director fined over $1M after alleged fraud: securities commission