The Village of Keremeos is calling out for volunteers to help with flood mitigation efforts.
Staff at the village office is compiling a list of volunteers that can help if flooding persists in the area. Anyone interested in helping should email town@keremeosreview.ca or call the office at 250-499-2711. Please provide your name, phone number, and any additional information.
The list of volunteers is posted online at the village’s website. Anyone needing help can contact people on the list.
The village declared a State of Local Emergency on May 10. No evacuation alerts or orders have been issued within village limits at this time.
Related: Keremeos declares State of Local Emergency
At this point, morning of May 12, the Similkameen River had receded according to data collected near Knighthawk for the U.S. Geological Survey.
The Similkameen River is an international river and monitored closely for a variety of things including heigh, flow, and the water is regularly tested.
At the time of this posting the height of the water at the study site had dropped from about 15.3 feet on May 10 to being estimated at being just lower than 14 feet, which is considered the flood stage. The data is provisional and is subject to revision.
The National Weather Service advanced hydrologic prediction service forecasts that river levels will remain around 14 feet into Monday and then start to rise. By Friday it’s predicted the river levels will reach 16.09 feet which is considered a major flood event almost two feet lower than the flood of 1972.
Historical crests recorded at the site near Knighthawk
17.97 feet on 06/01/1972
17.62 feet on 05/30/1948
15.52 feet on 06/17/1974
15.47 feet on 06/17/1950
15.13 feet on 06/13/1955