More Merritt, B.C., residents return home, but tensions are growing over the city's flood response
A second wave of residents of Merritt, B.C. were allowed to return home Saturday.
Phase 2 of the city’s return home plan was given the go-ahead following water testing results Friday.
Phase 2 includes those living between the RCMP station and Nicola Avenue. However, both the Phase 1 and Phase 2 regions remain under an evacuation alert.
“People need to be ready to leave at a moment’s notice,” said Mayor Linda Brown in an update Saturday.
Phase 3 residents, or those living south of Nicola Avenue, are now allowed day visits between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.
However, that area remains under an evacuation order.
For those in Phase 4, no access is allowed until further notice.
Howard McKinnon, a Phase 2 resident and the owner of multiple businesses, says some people still being denied access isn’t sitting well with community members.
“People don’t have any closure yet,” said McKinnon.
“For a lot of people, it feels like we're under martial law, with police and security and roadblocks,” he said. “That’s adding to the frustration for a lot of people, because they need to get in and see what they have left.”
City officials say they understand the frustration, but it’s simply unsafe for certain residences to be accessed.
"One of the big pieces that we've been struggling with in the Phase 3 area is ensuring that there is safe drinking water and the ability to flush sewage," said Alan Stebbing, information officer for Merritt’s Emergency Operations Centre.
“Until that’s in place, even with a boil water advisory, we really struggle to allow people to stay.”
McKinnon says neither his home nor businesses were damaged. He says he’s been helping others clean up, and warns those who have yet to come home about what they’ll experience once they do.
"It's going to be an emotional nightmare for a lot of people," said McKinnon. "For so many in Merritt, it's the end of what they know as Merritt."
With the possibility of more severe weather this weekend, Brown says the city is working closely with the B.C. River Forecast Centre, which currently has Merritt under a high stream flow advisory, though no major flooding is expected.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Bob Cole, veteran CBC broadcaster and former voice of 'Hockey Night in Canada,' dead at 90
Bob Cole, legendary CBC broadcaster and former voice of Hockey Night in Canada, has died. He was 90.
Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction overturned by N.Y. appeals court
New York's highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction, reversing a landmark ruling of the #MeToo era in determining the trial judge improperly allowed women to testify about allegations against the ex-movie mogul that weren't part of the case.
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that is banned at Queen’s Park.
CTE: Researchers believe widespread brain injury may contribute to veteran suicide rate
Researchers are working to better understand if some Canadian military veterans may be suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE -- a disorder previously found in the brains of professional football and hockey players after their death.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
New deep-water channel allows first ship to pass Key bridge wreckage in Baltimore
The first cargo ship passed through a newly opened deep-water channel in Baltimore on Thursday after being stuck in the harbor since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed four weeks ago, halting most maritime traffic through the city's port.