Floodwaters force evacuation of entire city of Merritt, B.C.
CTV
The intense storm bombarding British Columbia has forced officials to evacuate the entire City of Merritt, where floodwaters have "inundated" bridges and left the local sewage treatment plant inoperable.
The intense storm bombarding British Columbia has forced officials to evacuate the entire City of Merritt, where floodwaters have "inundated" bridges and left the local sewage treatment plant inoperable.
Some homes were evacuated overnight as unrelenting rain drenched much of the province, causing flooding, mudslides, rockslides and widespread highway closures between the Lower Mainland and Southern Interior.
Merritt announced the expanded city-wide evacuation order shortly after 10 a.m., urging the Nicola Valley community's approximately 7,100 residents to stay with family or friends if possible.
"Merritt is and will remain strong," Mayor Linda Brown said in a statement. "Please, offer help to your friends, families, and neighbours, drive safely, and take care of yourselves. We will meet each other again, in our homes, where we belong."
Those with nowhere to go have been advised to make for emergency services centres in Kamloops or Kelowna, depending if they have any supports in either city. Those with no supports should go to Kamloops if their home address is even-numbered and Kelowna if their address if odd-numbered, officials said.
The situation in Merritt has been deteriorating since the heavy downpours began over the weekend. At around 7:30 a.m. Monday, officials issued another evacuation order covering the Collettville neighbourhood, warning that residents might have to be rescued by helicopter if they didn't flee quickly.
The city's wastewater treatment plant has also been overwhelmed with floodwater, rendering it inoperable "for an indefinite period," according to officials.
