B.C. warns Interior flood risk could worsen over weekend

Flood levels are still rising in the community of Cache Creek where water has been rushing through parts of the Fraser Canyon village, affecting the local fire hall, post office and other buildings and properties.

Many people across B.C.’s southern Interior are watching the weather very closely as the provincial government warns that at-risk communities should prepare for significant flood hazards over the weekend.

We’ve been hearing from the mayor of Cache Creek who says he has never seen his village’s namesake creek surge like it has over the past few days, adding that the water levels are the highest he’s ever seen them and sandbags aren’t likely to help.

#cache creek tonight pic.twitter.com/jtFn8kEaca

— David Clark (@davidc1003) May 4, 2023

There have been dramatic images from the community showing floodwaters flowing right through the firehall and water inundating highways 1 and 97 where they intersect.

It’s not just Cache Creek — which is part of the Lower Thompson basin, under a flood warning right now — there are also flood watches up for the Middle Fraser, the Okanagan, and much of the rest of the southern Interior.

But CityNews Meteorologist Michael Kuss says there is better news on the horizon.

“The melt is on today with temperatures across the Interior up into the mid-20s at least again, and that snow line is well above 3,000 or 4,000 metres and beyond,” Kuss explained.

“We are going to see precipitation tomorrow and that’s not going to help the flooding concerns, but beyond Friday into the weekend and next week, temperatures really drop off and there’s not a lot of heavy precipitation in there, so that is going to slow the amount of water that melting from those higher elevations and filling those rivers and streams.”

But Kuss says it will take a couple of days after the cooler temperatures hit before all the run-off water to pushes through the system.

In the meantime, the provincial government says areas at risk of moderate flooding are expected to expand, especially in the Okanagan and other parts of the central Interior.

Related Article: Flood risk prompts sandbagging in B.C.’s Interior

“Moderate flooding is likely in Grand Forks starting on Friday. Into the weekend, significant flood hazard is expected throughout small and medium-sized watersheds in the Central Interior, Okanagan, Boundary and Southern Kootenays,” a release from the Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness said.

“People in affected regions should take precautions to ensure personal safety, including developing a household plan, putting together emergency kits, connecting with neighbours and learning about the local government emergency response plan for their area.”

–With files from The Canadian Press