Cherry Creek homes hit hard by flooding following rainstorm

May 5, 2017 | 5:07 PM

KAMLOOPS — In 12 years of living on his property, Wayne Holm has never seen anything like it.

“Five or six years ago the water was up but it only came to the bottom of our bridge,” said Holm. “Now the bridge has sunk three feet.”

Three days ago the Cherry Creek resident’s backyard was completely dry.

Now, it’s submerged in nine feet of water.

 

According to Environment Canada, a significant amount of rainfall fell throughout the Thompson Nicola region during Thursday’s thunderstorm.

“Outside of the city, some of the forestry sites in the South Thompson region picked up five to 12 millimetres of rainfall over a brief period of time,” said Environment Canada Meteorologist Alyssa Charbonneau.

While Wayne and his son’s home escaped damage, others weren’t as lucky.

His neighbour’s basement remains more than six feet under water, with a culvert and broken bridge now floating in the woman’s front yard.

Further downstream conditions aren’t much better.

One man’s tact store and home are almost completely surrounded by water.

While the TNRD has activated its emergency operation centre to help area residents, a state of emergency still hasn’t been declared.

“No evacuation or alerts have been issued for residents,” said Debbie Sell, EOC Information Officer with the TNRD. “The main impact seems to be roadways. We’re working with the Ministry of Transportation as that’s their area of responsibility.”

Sell says the TNRD Emergency Operation line will remain open 24-7 throughout the weekend for residents to call and report flooded roadways or request more sandbags.

While property damage varies throughout Cherry Creek, one thing is certain.

It’s an act of God residents won’t forget anytime soon.