Close X
Friday, January 10, 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But he and others received a reprieve Thursday when the Village of Pemberton rescinded evacuation alerts for several dozen properties whose residents had previously been told to be ready to leave on short notice.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

Highway 97C shut after truck with chemicals catches fire near West Kelowna

Highway 97C shut after truck with chemicals catches fire near West Kelowna
Police say a portion of the Coquihalla Connecter outside West Kelowna, B.C., is closed after a commercial truck carrying chemicals caught fire. West Kelowna RCMP say the eastbound lanes of Highway 97C were shut down Friday as fire crews doused the flames. 

Highway 97C shut after truck with chemicals catches fire near West Kelowna

Stabbing inside Guildford Mall

Stabbing inside Guildford Mall
A confrontation inside a Surrey shopping mall has ended with one person seriously hurt and two others in custody. R-C-M-P say the were called late yesterday afternoon to reports of a fight inside the Guildford Town Centre mall.

Stabbing inside Guildford Mall

At sprawling San Fran APEC summit, Canada opts for more intimate, one-on-one approach

At sprawling San Fran APEC summit, Canada opts for more intimate, one-on-one approach
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau embraced a more intimate form of Pacific Rim diplomacy Thursday as he sat down with several world leaders on the margins of a sprawling international summit in California. Even before all 21 members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation group could gather for their traditional family photo, Trudeau had already hosted meetings with Japan, Thailand and Australia, with plans to meet Mexico and Vietnam in the afternoon.  

At sprawling San Fran APEC summit, Canada opts for more intimate, one-on-one approach

The wait continues for Canadians wanting out of Gaza, approval list not yet updated

The wait continues for Canadians wanting out of Gaza, approval list not yet updated
The Canadian government says that as of Wednesday afternoon, it was in touch with 386 people still in the besieged territory. Global Affairs Canada says, so far, 367 Canadians, permanent residents and their relatives have been able to escape via the Rafah border crossing, most recently including two people on Wednesday and 10 on Monday.

The wait continues for Canadians wanting out of Gaza, approval list not yet updated

Pedestrian killed in Burnaby

Pedestrian killed in Burnaby
Mounties in Burnaby say they're investigating after a pedestrian was hit and killed by a vehicle in the city Thursday morning. Burnaby R-C-M-P say officers attended the scene at 11 in the morning after reports that a female pedestrian was hit in the 43-hundred block of Hastings Street. 

Pedestrian killed in Burnaby

COVID-19 down, influenza and RSV up in B.C, says CDC

COVID-19 down, influenza and RSV up in B.C, says CDC
New data suggest that COVID-19 activity in British Columbia is trending downward, while influenza and RSV are on the rise. A weekly update provided Thursday by the BC Centre for Disease Control says COVID-19 cases, new hospitalizations and deaths are all declining from a peak in the first week of October.  

COVID-19 down, influenza and RSV up in B.C, says CDC