As flood waters start to recede in the B.C. Interior, people who were forced from their homes are returning to the destruction left behind.
In what was the flash floods’ worst spectacle, a house hangs hopelessly into the new course of Sicamous Creek. The family has applied for disaster assistance, but it’s not clear what might happen.
“I hope that my mother at least get her home back. She's an elderly lady. She's in the hospital right now,” Earl Sjodin said.
Across the creek, Gary Bens’s house will likely be repaired. But he’s struggling to tally the damage.
"The floors are damaged. Some of the walls might be damaged, bedding, clothing, that kind of thing. But for the most part the water only got about six inches deep through the house,” Bens said.
Downstream in the community of Two Mile, B.C., Judy Latoski’s home is a soggy, muddy mess, and her daughter’s office cabin is a total loss.
"Well it was just a lovely, little cabin that she had her computers and office set up,” she said.
Volunteers from a nearby Mennonite community arrived to help with the cleanup.
“It’s just so great to see that we’re getting help and starting to clean up. It’s just day by day,” Latoski said.
Latosky is expecting disaster assistance for her home. However, because her next-door neighbours live in Alberta and only use their property seasonally they aren’t expecting any help at all.
"They've come clearly out and said that there's no, no, because we're Alberta residents, and they've said there's no financial relief. There’s nothing,” Mark Lenci said.
A big unanswered question is who will take responsibility for removing the tons of debris left behind on their properties.
The flood cleanup is expected to take several months.
With a report from CTV British Columbia’s Kent Molgat
