The River Forecast Centre has issued both a flood watch and high streamflow advisory for Hope after a landslide took place late Tuesday night (July 30) to early Wednesday morning (July 31) on the Chilcotin river.
The District of Hope said they are currently monitoring the situation, along with the centre. Residents are asked to check for updates from the district's social media sites, as well as from EmergencyInfoBC, PreparedBC, and the River Forecast Centre. They are also asking the community to sign up for and use the Alertable app.
"In our ongoing efforts to enhance safety and preparedness, we encourage everyone to utilize the Alertable app," the district said via a press release. "This app provides a smart alert system designed to notify Canadians of severe weather conditions, floods, tornadoes, wildfires, and other local community emergencies."
According to a press release from the centre, a flood watch has been placed for the "Fraser River from the Chilcotin River confluence downstream to Hope" and a high streamflow advisory has been placed for the "Fraser River downstream of Hope."
Due to the landslide, the river is currently dammed and forming a lake that is extending "several kilometres upstream." Should this dam break the centre said a sudden and large stream of water will flow into the Fraser River and potentially reach Hope within a day.
"In this scenario, a surge of water (cause by a break in the dam) would rapidly move down the Chilcotin River and into the Fraser River," the centre said. "Water levels could increase extremely quickly along the Chilcotin River as well as in the Fraser River immediately below the confluence.
"In the event of catastrophic failure, the flood surge could reach the Fraser River within hours, potentially travelling from the Chilcotin River to Hope within a day."
The landslide took place near Farwell Canyon or 18 kilometres southeast of Hanceville. The dam was created due to debris being pushed "across the river channel and blocking the flow of the Chilcotin River."
The dam is currently creating a lake that is extending "several kilometres upstream" and higher water levels are upstream of the dam; prior to the landslide, a high stream flow of 200 cubic metres per second was recorded at the river. As of July 31, "data from the WSC station Fraser River at Big Bar Creek (08MD013) indicate that flows declined by over 150 cubic metres per second."
According to the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship (MOWLR), a high streamflow advisory refers to "river levels that are rising or expected to rise rapidly, but that no major flooding is expected."
A flood watch refers to "river levels that are rising and will approach or may exceed bankfull."
Updates to follow.
