More extreme weather is expected begining Thursday after an unusually warm and wet spring caused flooding throughout the Boundary last weekend, leaving many scrambling for sandbags and prompting the RDKB to declare a state of local emergency.
State of emergency
Flooding began through the day Friday and continued into Saturday and Sunday, with peak water levels on Friday evening and Saturday.
The Regional District of Kootenay Boundary declared a state of local emergency on Saturday for Area C/Christina Lake and Area D/Rural Grand Forks, as has the City of Grand Forks.
The RDKB’s Emergency Operations Centre was established at the RDKB offices in Grand Forks to aid in emergency operations and to coordinate sand bagging efforts.
As of Monday, the RDKB notes that river levels are slowly dropping but are expected to rise again on Thursday and Friday.
Information bulletins and media releases posted Saturday indicate that there is flooding in areas of the Kettle and Granby Rivers, as well as other areas across the Boundary.
Affected areas include flooded fields in the Granby River North Fork Valley; Riverside Drive in Grand Forks; the Manly Meadows campground near Gilpin is flooded; as well as Grand Forks City Park and campground closed for flooding.
Residents are encouraged to exercise extreme caution near floodwater due to unpredictable currents, depth and ground conditions under the water.
Disaster Financial Assistance
On Tuesday afternoon the Disaster Financial Assistance program through the provincial government announced that the RDKB would join a list of eligible financial disaster relief events. The financial assistance program, which provides financial assistance to homeowners, small businesses, charities, local governments and tenants without insurance to cover disaster-related costs. The program extends to all municipalities and electoral areas within the RDKB for this flooding event. Applicants must apply for assistance within 90 days of the event, meaning a deadline of August 5.
Many regional districts had been included over the weekend, like the Thompson-Nicola Regional District and the Central Okanagan Regional District. On Tuesday, the federal NDP’s House of Commons Twitter reported that MP for South Okanagan-West Kootenay Richard Cannings asked for Justin Trudeau’s assurance that the Federal government would provide help and services for Grand Forks if need be.
Residents can access the forms for Disaster Financial Assistance as well as more information about specific claim amounts at: http://www.gov.bc.ca/disasterfinancialassistance
Weather ahead
For the coming days river levels are expected to remain high and continue to rise as rain is expected later this week. Warmer than average temperatures are also expected for higher elevations, meaning an increase in snow melt. According to an RDKB information bulletin released Saturday, river levels could rise “significantly” towards the end of the week.
The Kettle River is one of four rivers currently under flood watch by the River Forecast Centre. Also included are Mission Creek and Salmon River, as well as the Shuswap region including tributary streams. There is a high streamflow advisory in place for the Boundary region, including small streams and rivers around Grand Forks.
The RDKB issue a second information bulletin on Tuesday afternoon advising residents to prepare once more for higher water. Preparatory measures include sandbagging, moving livestock to higher ground, plugging toilets in basements and low floors and turning off gas, electrical and water supply mains.
“All sandbags put in place over the last week should remain in place to protect against expected flooding,” said the RDKB bulletin. An information board will be installed at the Grand Forks post office and will be updated daily. Sand bags for at-risk dwellings are available at no cost.
The bulletin also notes that BC Wildfire unit crews have been deployed across the Boundary to sandbag in at-risk areas.
Sand bags and sand delivered are available through the RDKB EOC; residents can call 1-888-747-9119 for information on where to get sandbags and arrange sand delivery.
Residents can check online for updates at the River Forecast Centre at bcrfc.env.gov.bc.ca and see the RDKB website homepage for bulletin information.