TOTA Response to High Water and State of Emergency in Regional Communities

May 11, 2018

To all industry stakeholders and DMO’s,

As most of you are aware, there is significant high water in many parts of our region and in some areas severe flooding. A number of communities have had state of emergencies issued to ensure immediate access to funds and resources to assist them in protecting home, land and roadways.

With current temperatures expecting to be near summer levels over the next several days we are anticipating the snow pack will continue to swell and in some cases break that banks of many streams, rivers and lakes.

“There is a tremendous effort being put forward by members of the community, neighbours and provincial bodies to do everything they can to try to manage these waterways and as a first  priority protect our citizens.” said Glenn Mandziuk, President & CEO, Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association.

Our consumer marketing efforts will continue to promote the region and focus on access routes and the breadth of activities available for our visitors.  We know that accurate and timely information is crucial to our tourism businesses as our season commences and will be updating our sites and our social media regularly.

It is important to be as informed as possible, and we encourage everyone to put safety first. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us, but for real-time information, these resources are readily available to you: 

Emergency Info BC

  • Information about emergencies in BC, including evacuation orders and alerts.
  • Twitter: @EmergencyInfoBC  #BCFlood 

Drive BC

  • Information about road closures, major events and transportation delays.
  • Twitter: @DriveBC

River Forecast Centre

Preparing Your Business for a Flood

  • British Columbia is prone to flooding due to our mountainous terrain and the wet weather that comes in from the Pacific Ocean. This information kit provides businesses with an overview of key activities to help prepare for, and react to, a flood event proactively.

PLEASE NOTE:

Highway Access Into Region as of Friday, May 11th 

  • #1 OPEN in both directions
  • #5 OPEN in both directions
  • #97 and #97C OPEN in in both directions
  • #3 Wesof Keremeos re-opened, conditions being monitored
  • #3 at Grand Forks – vehicles require high clearance
  • #6 east of Cherryville – single lane traffic

For up to the moment information check Drivebc.ca – Major Events 

The Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association would like to extend our support to the communities and industry. Please let us know how you are doing, what you require, and how we can assist.  Whether you are affected by the high water or flooding and require communication to your visitors, or whether you are unaffected and want to have that messaging to your guests, let us know the best way to help. 

We invite you to send any information you have including updates, links and photos to Ellen Walker-Matthews at industry@totabc.com 

Sincerely, 

Glenn Mandziuk, President & CEO

Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association

Share This