British Columbia on flood alert along river blocked by landslide
TORONTO, Aug 3 (Reuters) -British Columbia is on alert for flooding along the banks of the Chilcotin River after a landslide created a large natural dam and triggered evacuation orders in the remote region in Canada's Pacific coast province, authorities said on Saturday.
B.C.'s Minister of Emergency Management Bowinn Ma in an update said that in the worst case scenario, flows in the Chilcotin river were expected to be well above peak spring levels, while it would likely be lower than normal freshet season along Fraser river.
"Ultimately, this is an encouraging development for communities downstream, but we nevertheless continue to coordinate closely with communities along the rivers to ensure that we're prepared to protect people from potential flooding," Ma said.
The region has been under watch since Wednesday after a landslide blocked the river in British Columbia's Cariboo region, creating worries about potential flooding as the water could surge through.
Late Friday, the B.C. government issued an emergency alert to evacuate anywhere on the Chilcotin River or along its banks from the Hanceville Bridge to the Fraser River.
The landslide is a kilometre in length, 800 metres in width, 30 metres in height and the water level behind the landslide was rising 22 centimetres per hour, the BC government said.
The landslide could also impact wild salmon and other fish species that typically begin their migration starting in summer and early fall.
"While we know that there will be impacts on fish from this event, our early assessment is that the majority of the Chinook run is already past the landslide area," B.C. minister Nathan Cullen said. He added that they would have four to seven days to plan for returning sockeye salmon as they work their way up the Fraser river.
Reporting by Nivedita Balu in Toronto; Editing by David Gregorio
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