Residents and emergency officials in British Columbia's flood-ravaged Interior are cleaning up and bagging sand after weekend storms forced hundreds from their homes, left one man dead, and damaged homes and property. <\/p>\n
Almost 700 people across the province have been evacuated, while more than 1,000 have been placed on evacuation alert, meaning they'll have to leave at a moment's notice. <\/p>\n
Weeks of rapid snowmelt and wet weather caused river levels to rise in the B.C. Interior, the Kootenay region and the Fraser Valley, and a weekend of heavy rain and violent thunderstorms pushed many rivers and creeks in those areas to the brink. <\/p>\n
Edward Posnikoff, a 72-year-old resident of Crescent Valley, was swept away and drowned in one of those raging rivers, the B.C. Coroners Service announced on Monday. <\/p>\n
Posnikoff was standing on a bridge at the edge of his property on Saturday evening as the bridge collapsed. <\/p>\n
To the north, residents and even visitors in the hard-hit community of Sicamous, which evacuated about 350 people from their homes Sunday, began their week by cleaning up and filling sandbags. <\/p>\n
At least one home was swept away, and many more homes and dozens of cars were damaged after flash floods tore through the community, where the local district declared a state of emergency. <\/p>\n
Audible in the air during the cleanup was the din of heavy equipment powering through gravel and sludge, <\/p>\n
\"It's a little overwhelming,\" said Patricia Norbeck, 40, while standing in front of the flooded gift shop where she works at the Twin Anchors marina. <\/p>\n
While she was able to empty a trailer full of merchandise, Norbeck said there's still water everywhere and the carpet inside the business is ruined. Luckily, the foundation is concrete, so the building should be okay, she said. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
More here:<\/p>\n
Deadly B.C. flooding continues to prompt evacuations, highway closures<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Residents and emergency officials in British Columbia's flood-ravaged Interior are cleaning up and bagging sand after weekend storms forced hundreds from their homes, left one man dead, and damaged homes and property. Almost 700 people across the province have been evacuated, while more than 1,000 have been placed on evacuation alert, meaning they'll have to leave at a moment's notice. Weeks of rapid snowmelt and wet weather caused river levels to rise in the B.C. Continue reading