RDKB rescinds majority of evacuation orders in Grand Forks area
By RDKB
The RDKB Emergency Operation Centre has rescinded evacuation orders for 127 properties in the City of Grand Forks and Electoral Area D/Rural Grand Forks, these properties remain on evacuation alert.
Seven properties in Manly Meadows east of Grand Forks and six properties on Beatrice St. in Johnson Flats will remain on evacuation order due to floodwater in the area, existing flood threat or lack of access to homes.
“Our focus today has been to get as many people back into their homes as soon as possible so these residents can return to some sense of normalcy. We are keeping our evacuation alert for over 1,000 properties in place for now due to rain in the forecast for the coming weekend,” said Mark Stephens, EOC Director.
Threats from flooding have diminished throughout the Boundary for now and the BC River Forecast Centre has downgraded its Flood Warning to a High Streamflow Advisory. This means river levels could still rise rapidly, but that no major flooding is expected in the coming days. Minor flooding in low-lying areas is still possible.
Flood protection works including the Tiger dam in downtown Grand Forks and the 68th Street berm will remain in place until at least the end of this week.
Weather forecasts are for temperatures in the low twenties this week and the region is vulnerable to another heavy rain event possible this weekend. The Boundary snowpack remains higher than normal. Temperature and precipitation will have a direct effect on flood risk and rivers could peak again at flood levels.
The RDKB continues to monitor all creeks and rivers and track BC River Forecast Centre and Environment Canada weather information. The RDKB Emergency Operations Centre is activated to Level 3 and is prepared for any ongoing emergency response that may be required.
An EOC call centre has been set up for Boundary residents and is staffed from 8 am to 4 pm daily. The toll-free number for the call centre is 1-888-747-9119.
The RDKB warns everyone to stay away from the edges of watercourses and report any erosion or flooding to the Provincial Emergency Coordination Centre at 1-800-663-3456.
For more information about snow and river levels as well as how to prepare for the 2020 freshet, visit emergency.rdkb.com. To register for the RDKB Emergency Alerting System go to https://ca.voyent-alert.com/vras/user-registration.html.
The RDKB will continue to update the public as new information is available.
