It’s aching backs and sore muscles today for as many as 200 volunteers who came out to fill 10,000 sandbags and position them around flood-threatened homes on Tseshaht territory yesterday and into the night.
Without those sandbags and volunteers, there would have been more houses and property damaged when the Somass River poured over its banks and winds ripped through the area during storms over the last three days.
No flood waters entered the main floor of the homes, thankfully. Volunteers prevented hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages, said Tseshaht Chief Councillor Hugh Braker.
“We escaped last night… It’s looking very good today.” But Tseshaht is not standing down, with more rain in the forecast, a swollen river and saturated landscape.
Still, there was damage. About 22 homes were affected, and 18 homes asked to evacuate. And while many did heed the evacuation request, some residents stayed to help the sandbagging efforts around 12 homes, Braker told representatives of the Port Alberni Fire Department and Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District in a meeting this morning.
Most of the homes escaped with less than $15,000 worth of damage each, with loss of furnaces and electrical.
Rudy Watts was in his driveway looking at the flood waters around his home and longing to get back inside. Waters came up to the top basement step, he’s lost photographs and other sentimental items, totes and wharfs are floating up the inlet. The heat pump’s gone, he told Ha-Shilth-Sa.
Some houses cannot yet be assessed, with floodwaters still too high around foundations to allow a proper look-see. One home, for sure, has structural damage. A basement floor, which served as a partial foundation, is cracked.
Braker said the waters are receding and most residents should be back in their homes within the next 48 hours.
The volunteers placed sandbags along the highway too, where the river threatened to spill over. McCoy Lake Road, Watty’s Hill and Hector Road are still flooded, but are improving. Hector Road seems to have suffered quite a bit of damage.
There may also be issues with the new sewer system that Tseshaht has just put along the highway, and they are waiting for engineers to do the assessment.
The wind ripped wires from two homes, and they will need repair before people are allowed back into them. There are a number of trees threatening to topple and they are being assessed.
Infrastructure concerns include a number of sink holes and damage to the area called the dam.
Tseshaht extended a thank you to the ACRD and the City of Alberni and all those who came out to help during the crisis. There were even tourists from Australia who couldn’t get through the road to Tofino who stopped and helped with sandbagging efforts.
Dozens of people brought or sent food.
At one point, Tseshaht put out a call for more sandbags and Nanaimo stepped up with 5,000 more bags.
Tseshaht is taking time to reflect on the response from community and province. One issue is assessing the province’s flood watch system for the area.
The Somass River was given the lowest possible alert. Braker said there is no gauge on the Somass so there is no way to pre-warn residents. Had they been given more time, the response for sandbagging could have started earlier and could have prevented even more damage. Braker said he will be looking for support from ACRD for a joint approach with the province.
ACRD Chief Administrative Officer Russell Dyson told Tseshaht not to be shy about talking about what can be done to improve the response from the district.
PAFD reps had some warnings about the days ahead. Downed power lines and trees are a concern, as are high waters, so stay clear. And be careful in the operation of gas-fired pumps. The exhaust is dangerous.
Stay away from the Tseshaht park, said Braker.
Braker couldn’t say enough about the staff and community of Tseshaht, who went above and beyond in their efforts. It’s was impressive, he said.
Evacuation efforts began about lunchtime yesterday, with the removal of a severely disabled man from one home, said Ron Dick, an emergency coordinator. There was also concern about high tide last night at about 3 a.m. Dick said there were surges of water during the tide, “waves of water coming up” but it would recede again.
Tseshaht will remain watchful over the days. A declaration of emergency has been signed and will be submitted to the province to jump-start relief efforts.
