The City of Merritt expects to take as much as a year to recover from flooding that forced the entire community to evacuate on Nov. 15.

While most residents have been allowed to go back home, Deputy Emergency Information Officer, Alan Stebbing, tells NL News there are parts of Merritt that have been significantly impacted.

“Unfortunately, its not the same Merritt that people left,” he said. “You know there has been a major disaster that has come through this community but I think that there is a lot of feeling too that with more people coming back, there is more of that community support there as well that makes Merritt so strong.”

With the worst of the storms that impacted B.C. a thing of the past, Stebbing says the City of Merritt says is now focusing on those recovery efforts.

Stebbing notes a Resiliency Centre at the Merritt Civic Centre will help connect people who need supports to a variety of organizations and non-governmental agencies like the Red Cross, Disaster Psychosocial Services, Disaster Financial Assistance, Insurance Bureau of Canada, ICBC, First Nations Health Authority, and Interior Health.

“We as a city are hoping to make sure that Merritt residents know that we’re here for them for the long term and to build back in a sustainable and a really great way,” Stebbing added.

“We hope that people understand that this is a long process but the community is strong together and if we can treat people with respect and support and uplift them, every community that does that recovers a lot faster.”

Speaking Monday, Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said he will be in the Merritt area tomorrow, Dec. 7, to tour some of the damage in that community.

It comes after his visit to Princeton on Friday where the toured the town with Boundary Similkameen MLA Roly Russell and Princeton Mayor Spencer Coyne.

“It’s devastating, absolutely devastating. I don’t think there are words to describe it, when you see this,” Farnworth was quoted telling the Princeton Similkameen Spotlight on Friday. “I’ve never seen anything like this. It’s just unbelievable.”