Downpour unleashes torrents of water up and down Valley
Naramata resident unsure whether she can return home in wake of flooding
At least two Naramata residents were unable to return to their home after heavy rains Thursday evening led to flooding up and down the Okanagan Valley.
“Our house is now an island, so can we still live here? We don’t know,” said Gammon Road resident Alex Lea as she assessed the damage to her home.
Rocks lay piled up against the back of the house and water continued to flow from her property Friday morning onto Gammon Road, which showed substantial damage and was closed in both directions.
Lea returned home Thursday night and noticed water running down her driveway.
“We went in and phoned 911,” she said.
“The fire trucks came eventually; they were really great.
“The water started coming in our house. I’m afraid to go in, actually.”
She moved from North Vancouver into the 29-year-old house a year-and-a-half ago in hopes of retiring there, though she is uncertain what the future holds for the home.
Teresa Campbell, sales manager at Lang Vineyards, was turned back on her way to work Friday.
“I’ve never seen it flood like this,” she said. “That (road) has been washed away. T he whole bank has come down.”
The Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen was ensuring sand and sandbags were available for residents Friday, and it let residents know they needed to prepare for future such incidents.
“If the rain starts again, which could happen maybe Sunday, and you see rockfall or roads crumbling, try to avoid those areas. If you see emergency response, try to avoid those areas and let the workers do their jobs,” said Brandy Maslowski, emergency services supervisor with the RDOS.
The most important message Maslowski wants to get out is “be prepared.”
“Get a 72-hour kit so you can grab a bin full of stuff, throw it in your vehicle and go to a friend or family member’s house,” Maslowski said.
She also wanted residents to know they are responsible for prevention.
“We really want to get the word out they need to prepare in case something happens,” Maslowski said. “Safety for citizens is the No. 1 priority.” Rockfall, flooding and minor landslides were reported throughout the Okanagan Thursday night to Friday morning. The RDOS office was operating with two staff Thursday as an emergency operations centre. Eastside Road, south of Penticton, saw mudslides and flooding Thursday night, and 250 homes in Heritage Hills were without water Friday morning due to a water main break related to the heavy rainfall.
Flooding and minor rockfall in the Naramata area occurred overnight as well as a minor landslide in Kaleden near Toy Creek Road. Green Lake Road saw some rockfall, and crews were working
Our house is now an island, so can we still live here?We don’t know.
Alex Lea
Friday morning on a culvert near Carr Crescent in Willowbrook.
“That rose about five feet in five hours yesterday, and some homes are pumping and there’s a lot of work going on there with sandbagging and such,” Maslowski said.
The KVR Trail is closed south of Arawana Road until further notice.
“Right now, our main concern is some KVR slippage that we’re looking into in Naramata,” Maslowski said.