B.C. flood recovery: Owner wading through water daily to take dog out, using floatation devices to save belongings
As a much-needed break in the rain is finally allowing many flood-stricken B.C. communities to slowly begin their recovery, residents are continuing to find creative ways to save their belongings and help their pets.
Much of the South Coast remained under a flood watch or warning Thursday, but water levels appear to be receding in the hard-hit Fraser Valley.
The situation is gradually improving in Mission with water levels remaining somewhat stable.
Sam Molag’s home was one of the properties that was partially swallowed by the overflowing Hatzic Lake for the second time in two weeks.
Multiple times a day, Molag has waded through water to take his dog Tia out. A small swampy patch of grass up the street has become a haven for the aging Border Collie the past few weeks.
Molag said he's thankful that the damage to his house has been minimal.
“In the garage, there's a few things floating around in there right now and I was able to make some floatation devices to carry more things to keep them out of the water," he told CTV News Vancouver.
"So yeah, we got everything off the shelves up high and yeah, just kind of wait and see now.”
Molag also says he think the city "did a great job" supporting residents.
"They supplied a steady stream of sandbags for all of our houses here," he said.
"They've been good for support and keeping everybody informed when they're evacuated and the services that are available for us so it's been helpful."
But 16 homes on Benbow Street on the eastern side of the city remain on evacuation order, and the west side of the city has been plagued by landslides.
One home was damaged and the water supply was compromised in Ruskin, leading to a boil water advisory.
“Things are improving gradually here. While the water levels in the Fraser aren't going down as quickly as we'd like to, mostly things have been stable overnight,” said Mission Mayor Paul Horn.
A mudslide on the Canadian Pacific tracks in Maple Ridge led to the cancellation of train service East of Maple Meadows Wednesday night and Thursday morning.
A bus bridge was put into place between Mission and Coquitlam.
“West Coast Express will resume regular service this afternoon. Trains may be delayed arriving into Port Haney and Mission City Stations due to slower speed requirements through the mudslide area,” TransLink tweeted late Thursday morning.
Hundreds of mobile homes in the Everglades Resort on Hatzic Island are also still under water. Residents here are concerned the culverts running under nearby Highway 7 are not pumping out enough water, something that’s under control of the Fraser Valley Regional District.
River levels are decreasing, but temperatures have been warmer than usual at higher elevations, bringing snowmelt.
The mayor says they’re not out of the woods yet.
“Even though the rain has stopped and the creeks themselves are starting to slow down, there's so much water in the soil, that we're still literally seeing pieces of structures and infrastructure shifting, and we won't know the cost of that for some time to come,” said Horn.
He says he’s proud of the kindness his constituents have shown each other throughout the series of storms.
“We'll also have a lot of learning from this that will affect what we want to do to bolster our systems in the future,” he said.
One of the lessons he hopes residents will take away is the importance of remaining prepared for natural disasters.
Horn declared a local state of emergency for the Benbow Street community earlier this week.
That will remain in effect until Dec. 7, 2021.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Poilievre will do 'anything to win,' must condemn Alex Jones endorsement: Trudeau
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is ramping up his attacks on Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre as he promotes his government's federal budget.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
New evidence challenges the Pentagon's account of a horrific attack as the U.S. withdrew from Afghanistan: CNN exclusive
New video evidence uncovered by CNN significantly undermines two Pentagon investigations into an ISIS-K suicide attack outside Kabul airport, during the American withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
All Alberta wildfires to date in 2024 believed to be human-caused: province
There are 63 wildfires burning in Alberta's forest protection area as of Wednesday morning and seven mutual aid fires, including one in the Municipal District of Peace.
Video shows suspects waving weapons, smashing glass in Toronto jewelry store robbery
Arrests have been made after five men were captured on video rampaging through a jewelry store in Toronto, waving weapons and smashing glass display cases.
Pilot proposes to flight attendant girlfriend in front of passengers
A Polish pilot proposed to his flight attendant girlfriend during a flight from Warsaw to Krakow, and she said yes.
Ottawa injects another $36M into fund for those seriously injured or killed by vaccines
The federal government has added $36.4 million to a program designed to support people who have been seriously injured or killed by vaccines since the end of 2020.
Ex-SNC executive sentenced to prison term in bridge bribery case
The RCMP says a former SNC-Lavalin executive has been sentenced to three and a half years in prison in connection with a bribery scheme for a bridge repair contract in Montreal.