B.C. landslide: Water will take 12 to 24 hours to reach Hope when dam breaches

B.C. officials say the situation around the Chilcotin River landslide remains dynamic and ongoing.

Minister of Emergency Management, Bowinn Ma, said on Friday afternoon that plans remain in place for different scenarios.

“We continue to plan for worst-case scenarios,” she said.

Ma also said, at this point, it looks likely that the water will start pooling over the top first, rather than releasing from the dam in a sudden burst of water.

However, she said this is not certain but using the modeling and data, it currently looks like the most likely scenario.

Ma added that when the water does break through the landslide, it will take between 12 to 24 hours to reach Hope.

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“There will be time to alert people along the way, if necessary,” she said.

Any alerts will be issued to phones, TV and radio stations.

Ma said, at this time, modeling does not indicate that there will be a need for mass evacuations but that could change at any time.

Ma urged people who live along the river and downstream to have a grab-and-go bag and a plan in place for all family members and pets if those people need to leave their homes.

She also urged everyone to stay off the Fraser and Chilcotin Rivers this long weekend.

4:35 Concerns over potential Chilcotin Landslide flooding

• Concerns over potential Chilcotin Landslide flooding
• An aerial view of the Chilcotin River landslide.
• Landslide blocking Chilcotin River expected to fail in next 24 to 48 hours
• Chilcotin River landslide may cause flash flooding when river breaches
• Chilcotin River landslide prompts rescue, forces residents to flee

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The landslide is approximately 22 km upstream from the Farwell Canyon Bridge and is estimated to be roughly 1,000 metres in length, 600 metres in width and roughly 30 metres in depth.

The new lake that has formed behind the landslide stretches about 11 kilometres upstream.

Geotechnical crews are in the area surveying the slide site, which is being described as sandy and extremely unstable.

The dam is under 24-hour surveillance.