More evacuation orders issued as communities brace for more flooding

The Kootenay Region's Grand Forks community issued evacuation orders for 34 more properties Saturday afternoon, with more flooding anticipated through the weekend.

"The water is rising, so I think there's a little more anxious feeling in the community now," mayor Everett Baker told CTV News Saturday via Zoom. "We put out over 34,000 sandbags since Tuesday."

Baker adds that crews have lined river banks with more than three thousand square feet of Tiger Dam barriers to help mitigate flood damage.

Northwest of Kelowna in the village of Cache Creek, flooding earlier in the week caused damage to homes and roads resulting in evacuation orders for several properties. Despite seeing less rain than expected Saturday, the community remains at high flood risk due to melting snow packs and wet weather in the forecast.

"I don't think we're out of the woods yet," said Wendy Coomber, information officer with the Cache Creek Emergency Operations Centre. "We still expect the Bonaparte to be rising, especially with this rain."

In Okanagan Falls, a small community near Penticton, Marie Been saw how quickly water levels can rise and cause damage.

"Looked out in the yard and it was fine, and about an hour later it was all under water," said Been. "It happened really quite fast."

Hundreds in the interior and southeast parts of B.C. are already under evacuation order, with many more on alert.

"I mean, if it gets dammed up then all this water backs up and then it's a major issue," said Okanagan Falls resident Terry Clark. "Mother nature at her best."

Dave Campbell with the BC River Forecast Centre anticipates more flooding throughout the region within the next few days.

"We've had upwards of 30mm of rain over the past 24-36 hours," said Campbell. "It takes time to get that watered down and into the rivers, so that's what's happening right now.

Campbell adds the next few days remain a 'high risk period'.

Officials expect more evacuation orders will be issued and urge residents to be on alert. Those impacted by the floods are advised to check in with their local government or first nation for updates.