Sunday, May 31, 2026
    ADVT 
    National

    Rain, Melting Snow Pose Flooding Concerns Across B.C. As Evacuations Lift

    Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 23 May, 2018 11:30 AM
      Many people forced from their homes by flooding in southern British Columbia have been allowed to return, but officials say there are still areas of concern in many parts of the province.
       
       
      Evacuation orders for about 171 addresses in Grand Forks were lifted Tuesday, with the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary saying the threat of flooding had decreased.
       
       
      Residents of more than 500 properties across the province remained out of their home, and another 6,500 were on evacuation alert, warned that they may need to leave at a moment's notice.
       
       
      The Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen said drones were used to re-evaluate its evacuation alerts and orders. Residents would be allowed to return to their homes "as soon as the situation is appropriate," the regional district said.
       
       
      Farmers and ranchers have been hit hard by the rising waters, said Agriculture Minister Lana Popham. Cows were removed from two dairy farms on an island in the Fraser River near Surrey, she said.  
       
       
      "The flooding is taking a toll on farming and ranching families again," Popham said, adding many agriculture operations were also affected by last summer's historic wildfire season.
       
       
      Temperatures have been unseasonably high across much of the province in recent weeks, melting snow faster than waterways can cope with it, said David Campbell of the River Forecast Centre.
       
       
      "We, not surprisingly, have seen ongoing, dramatic, rapid snowmelt across the province over the last few weeks," he said.
       
       
      Enough snow has melted to reduce the risk for many areas that have seen significant flooding, Campbell said, but large melting snowpacks could still overwhelm the Thompson and Fraser rivers, and waterways in the Kootenay region.
       
       
      Severe rainfall is also a concern, he added, because June is known to bring wet weather across the province.
       
       
      "It's difficult, really, to kind of stand down from the seasonal risk until we're well past those weather risks," he said.
       
       
      Chris Duffy of Emergency Management BC said there are still about 300 Canadian Forces personnel and about 380 wildfire crews helping with the flood response.
      Prev Next

      MORE National ARTICLES

      Calgary Man Who Strangled Wife So She'd Stop Talking Gets Life With No Parole For 10 Years

      Calgary Man Who Strangled Wife So She'd Stop Talking Gets Life With No Parole For 10 Years
      Shannon Madill's Body Was Found Buried In The Backyard Of Her Home Months After She Disappeared In 2014

      Calgary Man Who Strangled Wife So She'd Stop Talking Gets Life With No Parole For 10 Years

      BC Liberal Leadership Hopefuls On The Defence Debating Plans For Party's Future

      BC Liberal Leadership Hopefuls On The Defence Debating Plans For Party's Future
      Todd Stone and Andrew Wilkinson called out former Surrey mayor Dianne Watts for not having released a platform in the campaign that is set to wrap up in two months.

      BC Liberal Leadership Hopefuls On The Defence Debating Plans For Party's Future

      Wrongful Conviction Award For British Columbia Man Capped At $8 Million

      VANCOUVER — The B.C. Court of Appeal says the provincial government will not have to pay the full $8 million in compensation awarded to a man who spent 27 years in prison before he was acquitted of sexual assault.

      Wrongful Conviction Award For British Columbia Man Capped At $8 Million

      Greater Vancouver Home Sales Climbed In November Compared With A Year Earlier

      Greater Vancouver Home Sales Climbed In November Compared With A Year Earlier
      Residential home sales in Greater Vancouver jumped by about 26 per cent in November compared with the same month a year ago.

      Greater Vancouver Home Sales Climbed In November Compared With A Year Earlier

      B.C.'s Chief Coroner Denounces 'Fear-based' Fentanyl Campaign By Funeral Home

      B.C.'s Chief Coroner Denounces 'Fear-based' Fentanyl Campaign By Funeral Home
      VANCOUVER — British Columbia's chief coroner says the agency doesn't endorse what it calls "fear-based initiatives" after a funeral home launched a campaign to combat the opioid overdose crisis.

      B.C.'s Chief Coroner Denounces 'Fear-based' Fentanyl Campaign By Funeral Home

      Bollywood Stars Shine In Mukesh Ambani's Party For London Mayor Sadiq Khan

      Bollywood Stars Shine In Mukesh Ambani's Party For London Mayor Sadiq Khan
      Khan was the guest of honour at a party hosted by the Ambanis. The guest list read like a who's who of Mumbai - and some of the most exalted whos of Maximum City belong to Bollywood

      Bollywood Stars Shine In Mukesh Ambani's Party For London Mayor Sadiq Khan

      PrevNext