The City of Merritt has issued another flood watch because of rising river levels.
It comes as the BC River Forecast Center upgraded the High Stream Flow Advisory for the Coldwater and Lower Nicola rivers to a Flood Watch.
“This means river levels are rising and will approach or may exceed bank full,” Merritt Information Officer, Greg Lowis said. “Flooding of areas adjacent to affected rivers may occur.”
All residents in Merritt south of Nicola Avenue who remain on evacuation order are being told to not be in the area outside the hours of 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., which is when some residents are able to access their properties. Those in other parts of Merritt who have returned home as part of Phase 1 or 2 of the return home plan are being told to be ready to leave their homes on short notice.
“The City of Merritt is actively working to protect critical infrastructure and reinforce banks at specific spots on the Coldwater River that were identified through a hydrology study conducted this week,” Lowis added.
The forecasts are calling for between 40 and 60 mm of rain while freezing levels are expected to rise to 1800 meters which will lead to snow melt. Earlier Saturday, the TNRD also issued an evacuation alert for hundreds of properties in the Coldwater and Nicola river watershed.
“The second in a series of atmospheric rivers is impacting the British Columbia coast through the weekend. Significant rainfall is expected across the eastern Fraser Valley through the rest of Saturday and on Sunday morning. There is the potential for spillover of moist air across the Cascade and Coast Mountains and into Interior watersheds,” the BC River Forecast Centre said, in a statement.
“There is a high degree of uncertainty over the extent of potential spillover rainfall into the interior, as well as runoff characteristics within these watersheds. The responses to rainfall during the Nov 13 to 15 atmospheric river event indicated extremely rapid runoff, and there is additional uncertainty over how the watersheds will respond to additional rainfall over the next few days.”
The River Forecast Centre cautions that river levels to are expected to increase overnight Saturday into Sunday.
“Flooding last week has created increased vulnerabilities throughout the region and forecast flows, leading to increased risks to impacts from forecasted flows,” it said.
“The public is advised to stay clear of the fast-flowing rivers and potentially unstable riverbanks during the high-streamflow period.”
Merrittonians as well as TNRD residents are being told register for Voyent Alert in order to be notified of evacuation alerts and orders that might be issued.
For the latest updates regarding the City of Merritt, go here. For the latest in the TNRD, go here.