Risk eases, State of Emergency stays
The water flow in Mission Creek has been more than halved from Tuesday’s near-record velocity.
As of mid-day Wednesday, water was flowing at less than 50 cubic metres per second. Early Tuesday, flows peaked at 115 cubic metres per second, not far off the all-time record of 124 cubic metres per second set in May 2018.
Nevertheless, a state of local emergency declared Tuesday afternoon remained in effect, and emergency officials are asking people to leave debris that washed up on shore during the creek’s surge where it is.
“As we are in the annual freshet season, water levels have not yet peaked in Okanagan Lake and there is currently a significant amount of debris from the flood in the lake,” Sandra Follack, Central Okanagan Regional Emergency Program co-ordinator said in a Wednesday release.
“Once the risk of flood has passed, we will advise the public when it is appropriate to begin clean up,” she said.
Debris left on the waterfront can help protect the shore from erosion. Boaters are also asked to slow their speeds when travelling near land as wakes can also cause erosion.
During Tuesday’s creek surge, logs and other debris was hung up on some bridges, which were intermittently closed to allow crews to remove the blockages. As of Wednesday, Mission Creek is flowing freely with no blockages, Follack said.
SOME FLOOD WATCHES DOWNGRADED
VANCOUVER — Local states of emergency are in effect in two southern British Columbia communities and evacuation alerts have been posted elsewhere as run-off from recent heavy rain reaches rivers.
However, forecasters say the immediate risk of a major flood is subsiding and some flood watches have been downgraded.
Other than Kelowna, a local state of emergency remains in Sparwood, with two mobile home parks and several other properties on alert due to surging levels of the Elk River.
A flood warning issued for the river through Sparwood and Fernie has been downgraded to a high streamflow advisory because the River Forecast Centre says flows remain high due to the recent storm, but the river isn’t expected to reach the flood stage.
The centre has also downgraded other flood watches in southeastern B.C., while it’s maintaining the watches for the north and south Thompson, the Shuswap area and for sections of the Quesnel River east of Williams Lake.
Despite the general easing of conditions, Emergency Info BC says local flooding in the southern part of the province has prompted evacuation alerts in rural Grand Forks, ongoing alerts west of Tulameen and in Harrison Mills west of Hope, as well as a localized flooding alert issued in Lumby.