(DANA REYNOLDS / iNFOnews.ca)
June 03, 2015 - 7:27 PM
KAMLOOPS - River levels have been on the rise and with the rain falling hard this week expect to see the Thompson rivers to rise even more.
While Asst. Chief of Kamloops Fire Rescue Dan Sutherland says river levels are normal the RCMP are cautioning people to be on the watch for floating debris and lower than normal bridge clearances. They also ask boaters to slow down and assess the clearances before passing under as water levels are changing daily.
Human carelessness and failure to spot potential dangers are the two primary causes of boating accidents. RCMP remind people to wear proper fitting life jackets and that watercraft have the required safety equipment on board. The river water is still extremely cold and a life jacket is the best chance for surviving cold-water shock and hypothermia.
Sutherland says city engineers use a stop light system — green being good, yellow use caution and red being dangerous — to the river water levels.
He says levels are monitored on a daily basis, and as it stands now, there are no flood concern at this time but he does want residents to exercise caution when near or on the river, explaining that 'banks are getting undercut' because of the fast water making them unstable.
Yesterday, June 2, Kamloops receive 17.7 millimetres of rain was recorded at the airport. This is more than three times the amount received during the whole month of May. A light rain has been recorded at the airport weather station during every hour today as well. More rain is expected Thursday morning and a chance of rain remains for the rest of the day. The sun will return Friday, along with temperatures in the high 20s. By Sunday temperatures Environment Canada is calling for temperatures to be in the mid-30s.
To contact a reporter for this story, email Dana Reynolds at dreynolds@infonews.ca or call 250-819-6089. To contact an editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.
News from © iNFOnews, 2015