The Somass River has been put on flood watch as opposed to a flood warning by the BC River Forecast Centre. Above is the Somass near the Orange Bridge on Tuesday, Nov. 17 during a reprieve from recent Port Alberni storms.

The Somass River has been put on flood watch as opposed to a flood warning by the BC River Forecast Centre. Above is the Somass near the Orange Bridge on Tuesday, Nov. 17 during a reprieve from recent Port Alberni storms.

Somass River flood warning downgrade

The BC River Forecast Centre changed their alert for the Somass and Sproat Rivers from a flood warning to a flood watch on Tuesday.

The BC River Forecast Centre downgraded their alert for the Somass and Sproat Rivers from a flood warning to a flood watch on Tuesday, Nov. 15 at noon.

As of Tuesday evening, the Tseshaht First Nation were still under a boil-water advisory that Hugh Braker, Tseshaht emergency preparedness committee chair, predicted would be lifted by Wednesday.

Tests for contamination in residents’ water on the Tseshaht reserve were done on Monday and Braker said they came back negative.

Braker said there are a number of ongoing post-flood maintenance tasks still taking place at homes on the Tseshaht First Nation reserve that were affected by the flood.

“Two houses had water under the house in what’s called a crawl space,” Braker said.

“You have to dry that out because if you don’t the water can seep up through gyprock or insulation. It acts like a sponge and can pull the water right up into the house and cause all sorts of problems. Plus you have to watch for the development of mould so we’re in the process of drying those with heaters and fans.”

The Emergency Operations Centre at the Tseshaht office closed on Tuesday at 2 p.m.

“I’m glad it’s all over. I’m exhausted,” Braker said.

 

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Alberni Valley News