Residents of a neigbourhood in B.C.’s Okanagan region worked around the clock to save their homes from a flood being called a one in 200-year event, but the damage was still significant.
Parker Cove is within the Okanagan Indian Band (OKIB) and sits on Whiteman’s Creek, which spilled its banks Tuesday. Evacuation orders were sent out Tuesday morning, followed by another to a wider group of people Tuesday evening. Nearby residents were put on an evacuation alert.
“At 2:15 a.m. we heard a knock at the door, the doorbell went crazy and we were told that we needed to evacuate,” Parker Cove resident Deb Gerk said. The tiger dam protecting her property had breached that night but sandbags that had been placed were holding steady Tuesday.
“It was frightening … We’re trying to navigate getting some personal items together and we did the best we could,” Gerk said.
While water was the biggest problem on Tuesday, that had largely moved on by Wednesday but the damage wrought was still very apparent, with the road crumbling and property swallowed whole.
The community is still working to make things right.
Working together in the midst of disaster is something that they’ve become accustomed to in recent years. Two years ago, residents of Parker Cove were under evacuation order due to the White Rock Lake wildfire which lasted more than a month.
“One person can only do so much and many hands make light work and we’ve all pulled together really well,” Colleen Vipond, Parker Cove resident said Tuesday.
But the dangers are not far from their minds.
“It is traumatizing, to be honest with you,” Vipond said. “We had absolute total devastation (with the White Rock Lake fire) five minutes from each side of us. Water is equally as dangerous as fire … Pray for us. Keep positive thoughts and good encouraging thoughts.”
Phil Walton said that it’s been hard to deal with this on top of the previous disaster.
“I mean, the fire was bad enough for everybody to leave but at that point, none of the houses were damaged,” Walton said. “At this point, there are houses being damaged by the flood so it’s very hard.”
On Wednesday morning, while muddy streets became the norm, the OKIB indicated the orders and alerts would stand but also there was some good news on the horizon.
“The forecast for the rest of the week shows a cooling trend which is helpful for slowing the rate of melt for snowpack still in the higher elevation of the watershed above Whiteman’s Creek,” the OKIB said.
Rain, however, is on the way.
“There is also precipitation expected in the forecast with between seven to 11 millimeters of precipitation in the watersheds above Whiteman’s Creek over the next five days,” OKIB said.
They also reminded the public that areas under an evacuation order or alert may contain hazards to health and safety.
“Non Emergency personnel should stay clear of the flood event areas and allow emergency crews to work,” he said.
“Ground erosions during a flood … can be very hazardous and can collapse or expand without warning. The OKIB EOC advises the public to stay clear of flood waters, fast-flowing rivers and potentially unstable ground near flooding events for risk to health and safety.”
Recreational activities such as fishing, swimming, boating or hiking near high-streamflow rivers or streams should be avoided.
The OKIB has a full list of evacuation orders and alerts on its Facebook page.