A rising Coldwater River overtook parts of Merritt on Monday, with flood waters remaining on Nov. 16, 2021, as seen from aerial drone footage.

Image Credit: YOUTUBE/Greg InBC

A Merritt woman and her family, along with their four parrots and 10 dogs spent 20 days living in a Walmart parking lot after floodwaters ravaged their homes.

On Nov. 15, the Coldwater River breached its banks, causing a city-wide evacuation since Merritt’s wastewater treatment plant was inoperable.

Since the water’s receded, residents are returning home, but roughly 150 properties remain under an evacuation order since many are inhabitable, unsafe or do not have gas, electricity or sewer services, according to the City of Merritt’s latest update, Dec. 5.

Cherylle Douglas and her daughter’s trailer is still under an evacuation order so she’s currently set up in a toy hauler outside of her ex-husband’s place, she said. Prior to that, she lived outside of the Walmart parking lot in the toy hauler with four other family members after she evacuated her home in a trailer park on McMillian Street.

She's concerned it may have have shifted off of its foundation. “Out of 20 trailers that were in that area, about seven survived,” she said.

“I felt like when we were up in Walmart, we felt like we were the forgotten group,” she said, adding about 15 trailers were parked there at the beginning of the floods and received no support from the city.

She said she has mobility issues and was unable to fully evacuate the city as her trailer’s brakes seized in the parking lot.

“We couldn’t go any further, that was the limit we could get to... The dogs lost a little weight because of the food rationing but we’re OK, we’re going to be OK,” she said.

Greg Lowis, director of corporate services with the city, said Emergency Services Supports were in place in communities including Kelowna, Kamloops, Salmon Arm, Logan Lake and Penticton outside of the Merritt since it was under an evacuation order.

Douglas said they were frustrated with the city, as the last 10 years they’ve been asking them to strengthen its banks as every spring the river rises within two to three feet to the top.

Lowis said further investigation would be needed to determine if complaints were made regarding the banks and if actions were or were not taken.

They lost a bird and two lizards due to the flooding, Douglas said. She is hoping to return to her home within the next few months and is getting support from Emergency Support Services.

“Last night was the first night that my daughter and I actually got a decent sleep,” she said.

A boil water advisory is currently in effect for the whole city.

Residents who remain under evacuation order are eligible for day access to their homes between 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and are eligible for emergency support services.

Properties will slowly be removed from the evacuation order but there is no exact timeframes when the order will be fully lifted, Lowis said.

“One of the issues is around the sewer system, there are some places where the entire line needs to be rebuilt and that’s going to take quite a while,” he said.

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