Provincial officials visit flooded spots in south Okanagan

Provincial officials got a first-hand look flood trouble spots in the south Okanagan on Wednesday.

The Parliamentary Secretary for Emergency Preparedness and several members of Emergency Management BC also got a look at all of the mitigation work that’s been done so far.

“It’s a very trying time and we want British Columbians to know that we’re here to help,” Jennifer Rice, Parliamentary Secretary for Emergency Preparedness said.

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In B.C., local government must have emergency preparedness plans in place, but as situations become more serious, the province’s Emergency Management is also deployed to support the work of local government.

“We’re able to get funding through the province, and support in the form of resources, like the BC Wildfire crews, which is tremendous because we don’t have access to those resources,” Mark Woods, Community Services Manager for the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen said.

The flooding situation that began with an intense rain event on Mar. 22 is expected to continue through spring runoff – likely another four or five weeks.