LATEST UPDATES
- Town of Osoyoos issues evacuation order for properties in Solana and Harbour Key area.
- Village of Keremeos declares state of local Emergency.
- Highway 3, currently closed in both directions west of Keremeos, is estimated to reopen at 8 p.m. PT
Recent downpours in many parts of B.C.'s southern Interior have added to flooding woes across the already soggy region, prompting new flood warnings for several rivers, forcing thousands out of their homes and closing a number of roads.
Emergency Info BC, which provides information during provincial emergencies, says flooding has led to evacuation orders or alerts in seven regional districts and seven First Nations around the province.
Kootenay-Boundary region
Just over 2,700 residents have been ordered out of their homes in the Regional District of Kooteney-Boundary due to "imminent danger to life and health due to flooding," according to Frances Maika with the district.
Maika said the flood is "in the range" of a once in a 200-year occurrence.
The order applies to all low-lying areas near the Granby, Kettle and West Kettle rivers, as well as other areas under an evacuation alert yesterday.
Addresses in Beaverdell, Midway and Grand Forks have been told to leave their homes immediately by using Highway 3 or Highway 33.
All you who are in the Boundary floodplain and especially in the Granby, all evacuation alerts will be changing to evacuation orders today.
—@RDKB_EmergencyGrand Forks resident Steve Horkoff said the flooding is higher than the disastrous flood year of 1948, when most of southeast B.C. was under water, entire towns were destroyed and lives were lost.
"I was just a little guy, but I remember the water on Second Street," Horkoff said. "This is higher. And if we get another couple days, it'll be a little rough."
The banks of the Boundary rivers are expected to peak on Thursday or Friday, which will mean more washouts and evacuations to come, according to the Emergency Operations Centre.
The River Forecast Centre has issued flooding warnings for the Kettle River, West Kettle River, Granby River and surrounding tributaries in the Boundary region. There is also a high streamflow advisory for the West and East Kootenay.
Okanagan-Similkameen region
At 11 a.m. on Thursday, 54 properties in the Okanagan Falls area were under an evacuation order, due to flooding along the Shuttleworth Creek.
Highway 3 remains closed in both directions, 14 kilometres west of Keremeos, because of flooding from the Similkameen River. The estimated time of opening is 8 p.m. PT.
The village of Keremeos has declared a state of emergency. Osoyoos issued evacuation orders for properties in the Solana and Harbour Key areas of the town.
Town of Osoyoos infrastructure being sand bagged and armoured against rising waters. Pictured here is one of several 'lift stations' affected. <a href="https://t.co/FGMlWI5apJ">pic.twitter.com/FGMlWI5apJ</a>
—@EmergMgtRDOSPatients at a hospice in the Okanagan have been moved amid flooding fears.
Ruth Edwards with the North Okanagan Hospice Society says nine people were moved from a facility in Vernon to the local hospital when a nearby creek rose dramatically yesterday.
The patients will stay at the hospital until further notice.
Edwards says the creek is expected to go down again today, but there are concerns that warmer weather and rainfall in the forecast could cause flooding this weekend.
The River Forecast Centre has issued flood warnings for Mission Creek in Kelowna.
Flood watches are posted for a number of rivers, including the Similkameen, whose high water has cut Highway 3 west of Keremeos and led to states of local emergency being declared in parts of the Okanagan-Similkameen Regional District, as well as the Town of Osoyoos.
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Evacuation?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Evacuation</a> Order: 54 properties on Shuttleworth Creek in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Okanagan?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Okanagan</a> Falls. See Information Release for addresses & map. <a href="https://twitter.com/EmergMgtRDOS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@EmergMgtRDOS</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BCflood?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BCflood</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/2018freshet?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#2018freshet</a> <a href="https://t.co/S3QObZEA7G">https://t.co/S3QObZEA7G</a>
—@EmergencyInfoBCThompson-Nicola region
Some people in the Lower Nicola will be allowed home this afternoon after being under an evacuation order for several days.
The Thompson-Nicola Regional District issued an evacuation order for the Lower Nicola trailer park and three homes on Marshall Road on Sunday; one property on Marshall Road remains under the evacuation order.
After briefly reopening to local traffic, nearby Highway 8 was closed again in both directions Thursday morning at 10 Mile Bridge, 10 kilometres west of Merritt.
WATCH: Drone video captured on Monday shows the condition of the highway.
While flooding seem to be receding in the area, conditions have forced the Nicola-Similkameen school district to cancel classes at Nicola Canford Elementary for the fourth day in a row.
The school itself isn't flooded, but the bridge near Guichon Creek remains closed, cutting access to the school.
Stephen McNiven, superintendent of Nicola-Similkameen school district, said the bridge closure affects about 100 secondary school students and 160 elementary school students.
McNiven said this is the second year they've had to close the school because of flooding. He has no idea when the school will reopen.
"It's a day-by-day decision," he said.
In Upper Nicola, four RV parks on the Upper Nicola Reserve Lands are under an evacuation order, as the level of the Nicola lake is rising and expected to breach very soon.
In the nearby community of Ashcroft, 10 residents are unable to leave their community because several culverts have been washed out near Barns Road. The area has been deemed unsafe for travel, according to Michelle Nordstorm, from the region's emergency operation centre.
With files from CBC's Bob Keating, Brady Strachan and The Canadian Press.