The majority of people are fine in the aftermath of the weekend floods in the Cowichan Valley, but some have a tough road ahead, North Cowichan Mayor Al Siebring says.
“For 99 per cent, life is back to normal, but for that one per cent who are impacted, it’s going to take some time.”
Siebring said a number of people won’t be able to get back into their homes right away.
He said he has never seen the Trans-Canada Highway closed due to flooding, as it was over the weekend.
“It was unbelievable,” said Siebring, who saw concrete median barriers on the highway pushed aside by water. “About a half a dozen of those were literally moved.
“They were just swept not totally away, but they were swung so that they were sitting across the lanes so the water could get through.”
The highway barricades are on the Duncan side of Russell Farms Market, which had up to a metre of water in the store, said Siebring.
“Their entire parking lot’s flooded. That was a mess.”
Cranes were brought in around 9 a.m. Saturday to get the barriers back in place and the highway re-opened by about 10:30 am., but there were still gaps in the barriers and cones were in place on Monday, said Siebring.
The most populated area of Cowichan Tribes land was hard hit when the Koksilah River overflowed its banks, said Siebring. The Koksilah River enters Cowichan Bay southeast of Duncan.
“The Koksilah was flowing at a 500- to 100-year event, or more than 370 cubic metres per second, which is unheard of there,” said Siebring. “The Clem Clem longhouse got flooded out.”
The weekend flooding resulted from a combination of rain, snow melt, high terrain and mild temperatures. The North Cowichan area saw 57.6 mm of rain Friday.
Siebring said there were about 18 evacuees from the Halalt band in Chemainus, who spent most of Saturday at the Cowichan Community Centre before being transferred to a hotel in the afternoon.
Another 28 or so found lodging with friends while 20 to 30 people from the Ditidaht band, west of Lake Cowichan, also went to a hotel.
Most affected by high waters were areas around the Chemainus River, which was flowing at about 700 cubic metres per second early Saturday morning. “That’s a once in a sort of 50-year level,” said Siebring.
Nanaimo Search and Rescue crews assisted the North Cedar Fire Department and Snuneymuxw First Nation in evacuating two residential areas Saturday near the Nanaimo River. Many households, including pets, were brought to safety.
Flooding in the Goldstream River led to the day-use and nature-house areas of Goldstream Provincial Park being closed Monday, while part of Saanich’s Blenkinsop Valley was under water.
The Blenkinsop situation isn’t a worry since planting doesn’t begin until late March, said Rob Galey of Galey Farms, adding having a lot of water in the area is commonplace.
“It backs up every winter. We’re used to it.”
Also in Saanich, the parks department is dealing with flooding in portions of Colquitz Creek. That has led to closure of the creek area at Panama Flats and the bridge that crosses Colquitz Creek off the Tillicum Centre parking lot, said senior Saanich parks manager Eva Riccius.
There is also trail erosion in a number of places, including Mount Douglas, Knockan Hill and the Cedar Hill Golf Course.
The City of Victoria’s rain-related concerns include slope failure on the Dallas Road bluffs.
“We had a bit of a slide, a small landslide, slope failure at Holland Point beach,” said Jas Paul, Victoria’s assistant director of engineering. Grass and dirt have come down on a pathway in one area, while a spot with trees and vegetation has slipped.
“We’re planning to go in there and clean that up once we’ve got the equipment lined up,” Paul said.
Public-access points have been closed.
There is also a problem caused by previous rainfall on the slope near Clover Point, just south of the Wellington Avenue/Dallas Road intersection.
Greater Victoria finished January with 291 millimetres of rain measured at Victoria International Airport, more than twice the norm of 143 and second only to the 359 mm in January 1953, in terms of all-time volume. The 38 mm that fell Friday was a record for Jan. 3.
Comox had 218 per cent of normal January rain, Campbell River had 155 per cent and Nanaimo had 150 per cent.
Rainfall totals from Thursday into Saturday were about 240 mm at Kennedy Lake, near where a temporary bridge was recently installed to fix Highway 4, 132 at Tofino and 133 at Port Alberni.
