Residents in Okanagan ready for second flood as water rises elsewhere in B.C.
VANCOUVER — Residents dealing with homes damaged by flooding in Kelowna, B.C., have walled off their properties with six to seven layers of sandbags in preparation for another threat of rising water.
Thunderstorms and heavy rain bypassed the Okanagan region Thursday night, but the Central Okanagan emergency operations centre said Friday that melting snow means lake levels are full and unstable weather would maintain the flood risk.
Debby Helf, 72, said she and her neighbours were unprepared for last week’s flood, which quickly filled basements, wrecking furnaces, hot water tanks and appliances.
Now, with more sand and sandbags from the city, homeowners whose properties back onto a full Mill Creek are ready for conditions predicted to be worse than the first time around.