'I'm going to be in big trouble': Vancouver Island snowpack remains high, increasing flood risk
A cooler-than-average spring has delayed the snowmelt on the mountaintops behind Russell Farm Market in North Cowichan, B.C. That is a potential threat to the business.
“I’m going to be in big trouble,” says France Bournazel, owner of Russell Farm Market.
The owner of the market has experienced more than $500,000 in damages caused by two separate floods over the past two years.
”Now they’re talking about another flood,” says Bournazel.
Reports from the B.C. River Forecast Centre show that the provincial average snowpack sits at 113 per cent of normal. Vancouver Island sits at 108 per cent.
“It was surprisingly wet and cold here on the island,” says Jonathan Boyd, a hydrologist with the B.C. River Forecast Centre.
Rain at sea level often means snow on the mountains when the conditions are right.
“If we had some type of heat dome, like a heatwave in late May or early June where we get temperatures 12, 13, 14 degrees above normal for four or five days, that’s probably the greatest risk,” says Boyd.
The risk is major flooding in areas like North Cowichan.
“If another flood was to happen again, the positive thing is we’re more prepared,” says Bournazel.
After two remediations, the walls around the interior of the market are now covered with easy-to-clean metal sheeting. Electrical plugs have been moved a metre up the walls and coolers have been outfitted with flood breakers.
It's still not a scenario the business owner wants to experience again. She says another major flood could mean the end of her business.
Snow remains in the hills around the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island. (CTV News)
“Unfortunately, this region is prone to flooding,” says April Diver, emergency program coordinator with the Cowichan Valley Regional District (CVRD).
Diver says that with our climate changing, the potential for more flooding is imminent and people need to be prepared.
“Know where you’re going to go and know where you’re going to meet up with your family if you can’t go back home,” says Diver.
She went on to say to have a emergency preparedness kit ready and to sign up for a warning alert system.
“It’s the best way to know that there is something coming and that they have to take action,” she says.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Health Canada to change sperm donor screening rules for men who have sex with men
Health Canada will change its longstanding policy restricting gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada, CTV News has learned. The federal health agency has adopted a revised directive removing the ban on gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, effective May 8.
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
LeBlanc says he plans to run in next election, under Trudeau's leadership
Cabinet minister Dominic LeBlanc says he plans to run in the next election as a candidate under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's leadership, amid questions about his rumoured interest in succeeding his longtime friend for the top job.
Grandparent scam suspects had ties to Italian organized crime, police allege
A group of suspects that allegedly defrauded seniors across Ontario and other parts of Canada using a so-called emergency grandparent scam appear to have ties to 'Italian traditional organized crime,' according to an investigator involved in the OPP-led probe.
Sports columnist apologizes for 'oafish' comments directed at Caitlin Clark. The controversy isn’t over
A male columnist has apologized for a cringeworthy moment during former University of Iowa superstar and college basketball’s highest scorer Caitlin Clark’s first news conference as an Indiana Fever player.
Trend Line Anger, pessimism towards federal government reach six-year high: Nanos survey
Most Canadians in March reported feeling angry or pessimistic towards the federal government than at any point in the last six years, according to a survey by Nanos Research.
B.C.'s short-term rental regulations include $10K daily penalties for Airbnb, other platforms
Short-term rental platforms that violate B.C.'s pending regulations can face administrative penalties of up to $10,000 per day, officials announced Thursday.
Closing arguments heard in trial for Sask. dad accused of abducting daughter
Closing arguments were heard Thursday morning in the case of Michael Gordon Jackson, the Saskatchewan man accused of abducting his daughter in 2021 to keep her from getting a COVID-19 vaccine.
Cat found on Toronto Pearson airport runway 3 days after going missing
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.