State of emergency, evacuation order remain in place

Apr 28, 2017 | 6:10 PM

KAMLOOPS — Twenty-two Kamloops residents remain out of their homes at this hour after sloughing of a nearby hillside past Rayleigh has made for slope instability. 

The city declared the local state of emergency before 6 p.m. on Thursday evening, identifying a significant change in the landscape since a landslide in the area on April 10. The city says the heavy precipitation the area’s received has softened the hillside. 

There will be monitoring devices installed this weekend by geotechnical engineers, and they will help the city determine if there is any further movement.

“Our plan to continue to monitor the area. We will be installing some monitoring equipment that will give us daily readings, or more frequently as required, so we can understand what’s happening with the slope,” said Robertson. “Based on that movement, we will hope to see that it will slow, and we’ll be able to return the residents back to their home.”

As for the 22 residents affected from the eight homes evacuated, some are staying at hotels and have two more nights covered by the province. Others have been with family and friends.