B.C. homes on flood evacuation alert as dam weakens, water levels rise

Residents were told they should be prepared to leave immediately if an evacuation order was issued, and they should have essential items such as medications, keepsakes and documents readily available and a plan for where they can alternatively stay. (Shutterstock)

OLIVER, B.C. _ Flooding across the British Columbia Interior has washed out roads and put homes on evacuation alert.

The Ministry of Transportation says Highway 33 from the Mission Creek Bridge to Kelowna is closed in both directions due to a washout.

When the road will re-open remains unclear and the ministry was still assessing the situation Tuesday night.

Highway 3A north of Keremeos was also closed in both directions due to a mudslide, but single-lane alternating traffic was allowed through starting Tuesday afternoon.

The Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen put 148 properties north of Oliver on alert Monday night as a dam and culvert threatened to fail.

Residents were told they should be prepared to leave immediately if an evacuation order was issued, and they should have essential items such as medications, keepsakes and documents readily available and a plan for where they can alternatively stay.

A local state of emergency was first issued at the end of March as dams in the region reached capacity due to spring rains and snowmelt.

The state of emergency has since expanded and more properties around Green Lake are now under evacuation alert because of increased flooding.

The district says rainfall last weekend caused overflows at Green Lake and the province had launched work on Crown land to mitigate the flooding while engineers began pumping the lake to manage water levels.