Residents should be prepared in case of flooding concerns and develop their own emergency plans according to the Cariboo Regional District.
Depending on weather, flood-related emergencies could occur in the coming weeks and months.
“This weekend, we were actively monitoring higher than normal stream flows in the region and we are prepared to respond to any flood-related emergencies,” said John MacLean, the CRD’s EOC Director and Chief Administrative Officer in a release.
“High stream flows are just one example of some of the impacts we could see from spring melt in the Cariboo. We could also experience flooding, debris flows, high water tables or landslides during freshet, which is why we are encouraging residents to make sure they are prepared.”
The Cariboo Regional District is also asking people to use caution around rivers, streams, and culverts and urge children not to play in those areas.
The snow basin index or the amount of snow on the ground within a drainage area is currently at 110 percent of normal for the Cariboo region.
Temperature variations and precipitation events are also significant contributors to how the snow melts and runs off each spring.
“Disturbances such as fire affect the hydrologic response of streams, rivers, and lakes relevant to potential flooding,” says the B.C. River Forecast Centre.
“Specifically, flows from snowmelt-dominated watersheds impacted by fires tend to be greater and peak earlier as compared to undisturbed areas, even under normal weather conditions. Many of the regions affected by burns last summer have above normal snow packs this year.”
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