B.C.’s Okanagan prepares for record flooding as residents protect property
VANCOUVER — The threat of a storm and record flooding in British Columbia’s Okanagan region has residents trying to protect homes that could be evacuated.
Parts of the area that were flooded last weekend are so saturated that water levels will quickly rise with little rain, said Adrian Nieoczym, information officer with the Regional District of the Central Okanagan.
He said Environment Canada has forecast a severe thunderstorm that could bring 25 millimetres of rain by Friday morning, but snow melt prompted by warm weather is expected to worsen conditions.
“The possibility is that we could have a one-in-200-year flooding event,” Nieoczym said after the regional district issued a news release advising residents that the risk of flooding within hours was very high.