Thursday, June 18, 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

      SAD Will Review Punjab Election Outcome, Says Parkash Singh Badal

      SAD Will Review Punjab Election Outcome, Says Parkash Singh Badal
      The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) will hold a meeting to review the party's performance in the Punjab assembly elections, said the outgoing Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today. 

      SAD Will Review Punjab Election Outcome, Says Parkash Singh Badal

      B.C. Gives $100k To Jewish Community For Security Upgrades After Bomb Threat

      The Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver received an email bomb threat on Sunday, days after a similar threat required an evacuation of the facility.

      B.C. Gives $100k To Jewish Community For Security Upgrades After Bomb Threat

      Video Shown At Charest Sex Assault Trial Shows Female Students Looking Uneasy

      Homemade video footage of a 1990s European ski trip shown at Bertrand Charest's sex assault trial Monday included scenes of two young female ski students who seemed uneasy and who wouldn't look at the camera.

      Video Shown At Charest Sex Assault Trial Shows Female Students Looking Uneasy

      Canadian Home Prices Post Record February Increase

      Canadian Home Prices Post Record February Increase
       Canadian home prices posted a record jump for the month of February, fuelled by the Toronto, Hamilton and Vancouver markets.

      Canadian Home Prices Post Record February Increase

      Homeless Woman Who Was Viciously Beaten Attends Attacker's Hearing

      Homeless Woman Who Was Viciously Beaten Attends Attacker's Hearing
      PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. — A Saskatchewan woman whose legs had to be amputated after she was viciously beaten and burned has attended the opening of a dangerous offender hearing for the man who pleaded guilty in the case.

      Homeless Woman Who Was Viciously Beaten Attends Attacker's Hearing

      Justin Trudeau In New York For Broadway Play About Canada On 9-11

      Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau plans to be in New York on Wednesday for a Broadway play about Newfoundlanders who opened their doors to thousands of passengers who descended on the town of Gander the day U.S. airspace was shut on 9-11.

      Justin Trudeau In New York For Broadway Play About Canada On 9-11

      PrevNext