City Council Gets Flood Update

By 250 News

Prince George Councillors receive the latest flood news from City Staff

Prince George, B.C. -  Today marks Day 42 since the Nechako flooding emergency situation began...

The City’s Public Information Officer, Don Schaffer, says the Amphibex excavator has advanced 300-metres up the channel of the Nechako River from its starting point on Saturday at the confluence with the Fraser.  He says the machine is carving a channel about 30-metres wide in the ice as it goes.

In providing City Councillors with an overall flood update this evening, Prince George Fire Rescue Chief Jeff Rowland says the amphibious excavator’s progress is very much dependent on the ice it encounters.  He says the very densely packed ice at the confluence was tough to get through, but the machine had a 166-metre chunk just break away today, forcing it had to scramble out of the way.

The City is hoping the Amphibex’s progress in making channels and leads in the ice will be maintained by the warm water pipeline that’s under construction.  Hot water is being pumped from Canfor’s pulp mill, where it will be cooled with ground water to 15-degrees Celsius before entering the river.  Completion is scheduled for Friday.

As for those impacted by the situation, Chief Rowland says, "We have 24 homes under evacuation order, we have 47 businesses under evacuation alert and we have 47 homes under evacuation alert."  He says the most recent numbers for residents requesting assistance list 27 as registering with emergency social services through the city and another 32 have registered with the Red Cross.

To date, 4.9-kilometres of gabion diking has been installed in at-risk areas along the river, earthen berms have been built to the 200-year flood level plus .6-metres and pumps remain deployed along River and Pulp Mill Roads.

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