Heavy rain pounds B.C., forces evacuations (CBC News, Nov. 6, 2006)
About 30 homes were evacuated Monday in the Chilliwack area due to rising river levels, as heavy rain continued to fall across B.C.'s south coast.The families are being forced to leave the area along Wilson Road and Chilliwack Lake Road.Provincial emergency officials say there are also high water levels on other rivers in the Fraser Valley, including the Stave, the Norrish and the Coquitlam.They note that 250 to 300 millimetres of rain has fallen in parts of the southwestern corner of B.C. since last Thursday, and warn that it's not over yet.River levels are climbing rapidly in the Fraser Valley and on southern Vancouver Island."Rivers will be rising today and throughout the day and this evening, probably peaking perhaps sometime after dark this evening, midnight or early Tuesday morning," said Alan Chapman of the environment ministry.
He adds that the Nooksack River in Washington state is expected to overflow its banks and spill some of its water into the Fraser Valley.
Rain triggers slides:
A mudslide near Hope, 150 kilometres east of Vancouver, has closed Highway 3 to the B.C. Interior.The torrential rains brought down a section of hillside three kilometres east of the Highway 5 interchange, said RCMP Const. Bert Paquet. "The slide reaches heights of eight to 10 feet across the highway in both directions," he told CBC News. No one was trapped in the slide.
There was also a second slide on Highway 3 near Princeton, and officials expect the road to be closed at least until Tuesday. A slide has also blocked Hemlock Valley Road near Harrison Mills in the Fraser Valley.
Island also a concern:
On Vancouver Island, public works crews are handing out sandbags to residents of Sooke, west of Victoria, to protect against flooding that's expected in some low-lying areas. A section of Sooke Lake Road is closed, and some local schools sent students home early because of flooding concerns.Up island, the Cowichan, Englishman and Chemainus Rivers are being monitored closely.Chapman noted that some of those rivers were experiencing drought conditions just a week ago. Now, he said, they are full of water and rising hourly.
North Vancouver on alert:
On the Lower Mainland, District of North Vancouver Mayor Richard Walton spent much of the day touring potential trouble spots in his community. The mayor said municipal crews were busy all weekend clearing storm drains, watching swelling creeks and taking ground water readings in the Riverside Drive area, where a mudslide killed a woman in January 2005.
Walton said a lot has been done to prevent another killer slide. "We've been very, very vigilant with the procedures we've asked people to undertake and the work we've done on district property, but there's still no such thing as no risk at all when we're dealing with weather such as this."
About 30 homes were evacuated Monday in the Chilliwack area due to rising river levels, as heavy rain continued to fall across B.C.'s south coast.The families are being forced to leave the area along Wilson Road and Chilliwack Lake Road.Provincial emergency officials say there are also high water levels on other rivers in the Fraser Valley, including the Stave, the Norrish and the Coquitlam.They note that 250 to 300 millimetres of rain has fallen in parts of the southwestern corner of B.C. since last Thursday, and warn that it's not over yet.River levels are climbing rapidly in the Fraser Valley and on southern Vancouver Island."Rivers will be rising today and throughout the day and this evening, probably peaking perhaps sometime after dark this evening, midnight or early Tuesday morning," said Alan Chapman of the environment ministry.
He adds that the Nooksack River in Washington state is expected to overflow its banks and spill some of its water into the Fraser Valley.
Rain triggers slides:
A mudslide near Hope, 150 kilometres east of Vancouver, has closed Highway 3 to the B.C. Interior.The torrential rains brought down a section of hillside three kilometres east of the Highway 5 interchange, said RCMP Const. Bert Paquet. "The slide reaches heights of eight to 10 feet across the highway in both directions," he told CBC News. No one was trapped in the slide.
There was also a second slide on Highway 3 near Princeton, and officials expect the road to be closed at least until Tuesday. A slide has also blocked Hemlock Valley Road near Harrison Mills in the Fraser Valley.
Island also a concern:
On Vancouver Island, public works crews are handing out sandbags to residents of Sooke, west of Victoria, to protect against flooding that's expected in some low-lying areas. A section of Sooke Lake Road is closed, and some local schools sent students home early because of flooding concerns.Up island, the Cowichan, Englishman and Chemainus Rivers are being monitored closely.Chapman noted that some of those rivers were experiencing drought conditions just a week ago. Now, he said, they are full of water and rising hourly.
North Vancouver on alert:
On the Lower Mainland, District of North Vancouver Mayor Richard Walton spent much of the day touring potential trouble spots in his community. The mayor said municipal crews were busy all weekend clearing storm drains, watching swelling creeks and taking ground water readings in the Riverside Drive area, where a mudslide killed a woman in January 2005.
Walton said a lot has been done to prevent another killer slide. "We've been very, very vigilant with the procedures we've asked people to undertake and the work we've done on district property, but there's still no such thing as no risk at all when we're dealing with weather such as this."
