The Mayor of Merritt says it exciting to see some residents returning home today, just over a week after they were forced to evacuate when the Coldwater River burst its banks and overwhelmed the city’s wastewater treatment plant..
Linda Brown says crews have worked around the clock to get to a point where some of the evacuation orders could be lifted. Phase one of a three-phase return home plan kicked in at noon today, Nov. 23.
“What you are coming home to is a city that has changed,” she said, in a video update Sunday where she also cautioned that there will be limited services available.
“You will be on a boil water advisory because the health officials tell us the water is not safe. You will be asked to put as little sewage as possible down the drains as we cannot process it. You will be asked to use as little water as possible to preserve supplies for the fire department and you will not have an operational hospital.”
City officials have said that about 1,500 of the 7,000 or so residents are part of the first homecoming phase.
“We have more plans for the rest of the City. Those will be detailed on our website. Every one north of Nicola Avenue should be able to come home by Thursday, November 25, and we hope to implement a day time access scheme for much of the city at that time,” Brown added. “We will be communicating this on a block-by-block basis.”
As for areas south of Nicola Avenue where damage was more substantial, those residents will likely be under the evacuation order “for an extended period of time.”
It is why the Mayor of Kamloops, Ken Christian, says crews from the City have been deployed to Merritt to support the crews there as best they can, including assessing the damage to houses in Merritt over the weekend.
“We sent some individuals down to relieve the Merritt crew in the EOC so in communications and logistics and finance and now this week, we are down there with our civic operations unit so we’re trying to get the road network and the water and sewer back up for them,” Christian said on the NL Morning News.
He adds the City will support any evacuees from Merritt that are not yet able to return home.
“Its been an effort all around and my sympathy goes out to Her Worship, Mayor Brown,” Christian added.
“These are not easy times for her not her council not her citizens. So obviously, on behalf of the City of Kamloops, we want to get back to normal as soon as possible.”
Brown, in her update, said she is “incredibly proud” of the work that has been done to bring Merrittonians home.
“These have been incredibly trying and tragic times. We should never lose sight of how our friends, our families, colleagues, and neighbours have lost everything swept down the mighty Coldwater River,” she said. “We will get through this together and I cannot wait to welcome you back to your home in Merritt.”
For more information on Merritt’s Return Home Plan, go here or contact the Return Home Information Line at 1-877-655-0341 or by email here.