Parts of Grand Forks, B.C., under evacuation order as floodwaters rise across Interior

The threat of flooding throughout BritishColumbia's Interior continued toSaturday as a combination ofwarm weather and rain drove higher flow in rivers and streams,putting several communities and their residents in harm's way.

According to the province's River Forecast Centre, about half ofB.C. is under flood watches, warnings or advisories.

Three regions:Boundary, Cache Creek and Whiteman Creek in theOkanagan are under active flood warnings.

The Regional District of Kootenay Boundary (RDKB) was the busiest regionin terms of flood activity Saturday, with the City of Grand Forksdeclaring a state of local emergency and issuing mandatoryevacuation orders for 40 properties in and around the community.

Grand Forks, located about 530 kilometres east of Vancouver, hasalso added 10 properties on the city's waterfront to its evacuationalert list, as the Granby and Kettle rivers are seeing "fast-movingwaters represent a significant hazard.''

WATCH | Residents deal with flooding in Cache Creek and Grand Forks B.C.:

Snowmelt and heavy rains cause flooding and evacuation orders in B.C.'s Interior

1 year ago

Duration 2:12

The CBC's Corey Bullock highlights flood-hit areas in Cache Creek and Grand Forks B.C.

Grand Forks Mayor Everett Baker said crews have been preparingall week to combat the flooding, deploying 35,000 sandbags to fourstrategic points within the city to mitigate the effects of highwater levels.

Not all areas, however, could be protected, Baker said.

"With the rain overnight, the Kettle has certainly come up, andthe Granby is slowly coming up,'' he said. "So we've had to putsome evacuation notices in the areasthat we cannot protect.''

Grand Forks' mandatory evacuation areas include 34 properties inthe Johnson Flats neighbourhood south of the city, as well as sixproperties to the city's east, near Grand Forks Airport.

WATCH | Regional District of Kootenay Boundary officialtalks about residents dealing with evacuation orders:

Emergency official in B.C.'s Boundary region says evacuation orders necessary to keep residents safe from flooding

1 year ago

Duration 0:30

Mark Stephens, manager of emergency programs at Regional District of Kootenay Boundary, says asking residents to leave their properties at a moment's notice due to flooding risk is a harrowing ordeal.

Mark Stephens, manager of emergency programs with RDKB asked residents in the region to subscribe to its alerting system to receive information immediately about conditions.

"I think everyone is anxious and I think people are watching the weather as closely as we are but they are also helping one another to prepare," he said.

"I think the most important thing right now is for people to stay current with information."

Some alerts rescinded

The Regional District of Kootenay Boundary also has activeevacuation alerts for communities such as Fruitvale, Christina Lakeand Midway, whilepropertiesin the community of Vallican, 660 kilometres east of Vancouver,remain under a mix of evacuation orders and alerts.

However, threat levels alleviated enough for officials to rescindthe evacuation alerts in the village of Salmo, its neighbouringcommunities of Erie and Ymir, as well as for several properties inDuhamel Creek.

In the Okanagan region 390 kilometres east of Vancouver, anevacuation alert remained in place in Okanagan Falls' propertiesadjacent to Shuttleworth Creek.The Okanagan Indian Band hasissued an evacuation order for a small number of homes alongWhiteman's Creek while "at least five other locations'' nearby areseeing rising levels.

The River Forecast Centre has also added new flood watchesfurther north, with the Upper Fraser River and "tributariesupstream of Prince George'' now under flood watch.

Heavy rain on Friday and Saturday, following a week ofrecord-setting temperatures that melted the snowpack, has swollenrivers and creeks and set off mudslides.

Baker said local forecasts call for more rain in Grand Forks,followed by a stretch of warm weather early next week, none ofwhich would alleviate the rising water levels in the region.

"We will just leave them up for as long as necessary,'' Bakersaid of the sandbags and other flood prevention measures put inplace. "We are just going to leave the work stuff that we'vedone, continue to support them where we can, and watch the rivers.''

The province says it has deployed more than 200,000 sandbags tocommunities including Grand Forks and Cache Creek.

Cache Creek has been hit particularly hard in the last week, withwater flowing through homes and businesses.

The Ministry of Transportation says it is putting equipment andmaterials at key locations and keeping an eye on infrastructure thatmay need to be reinforced.