Nearly 200 properties in Cache Creek along the Bonaparte River have been put on evacuation alert, for the second time this spring.

Village councillor and Emergency Operations Centre spokesperson Wendy Coomber says the river levels could keep rising in the coming days.

“We’re hoping that it levels off. We’re thinking that it’s levelling off, but that could change of course if it rains again. And right now those skies aren’t looking too promising.”

Federal data shows that as of today, the Bonaparte River south of Cache Creek is flowing at 2.966 metres, which is less than one-tenth of a metre lower than the level it reached in late April (2.973), when a flood warning was in effect.

Meanwhile, the City of Merritt has advised property owners to be prepared for potential flooding in the coming days, with a higher flood risk along the Nicola River because of recent rain.

And in Kamloops, the flood risk has dropped slightly according to data released today from the BC River Forecast Centre. The city has barricaded Riverside Park with Hesko baskets filled with sand and has closed the pier along the river.

That data shows the snowpack still to melt in the North Thompson is 12 per cent above normal, and the South Thompson is 10 per cent above normal; that data compares two weeks ago when the North Thompson was 18 per cent above normal, and the South Thompson was 24 per cent above normal.

“Most sites have melted at seasonal rates this year. Most lower elevation areas are now snow-free, approximately below 800-1000 metres in coastal B.C., below 1600m in southern BC and below 1200-1300m in northern BC, while higher elevation snow pack has experienced limited melt,” the latest snowpack bulletin reads.

The bulletin says larger rivers in the Interior like the upper Fraser River, the North Thompson River and the South Thompson River will likely peak in early to mid June, and says those rivers are still at risk of spring flooding because of the spring snow melt or because of potential heavy rainfall.