Cache Creek flood damage called 'unbelievable' by B.C. Premier Christy Clark

B.C. Premier Christy Clark toured the damage done by a flash flood to the village of Cache Creek today, calling the devastation unbelievable.

The violent storm dumped 30 to 40 millimetres of rain on Cache Creek in less than an hour Saturday.

After touring the area on Tuesday morning, Clark said the community is resilient and that the B.C. government will help in the recovery effort as much as possible.

"This is a desert community. They haven't seen anything like this in ... nobody can remember in at least a hundred years," Clark said. 

"This community is prepared for run-off, but a flood on this level, it's unbelievable … and I'm really, really concerned about the impact it's had on all the residents."

Justice Minister Suzanne Anton announced Monday that residents can apply for disaster financial assistance.

The government will pay 80 per cent of damage exceeding $1,000 to a maximum $300,000 to accepted claimants, but it won't cover damage to yards and landscaping.

The financial disaster assistance aid is available to homeowners, tenants, small business owners, farmers, charities and local governments who were unable to obtain insurance.

Residents who plan to file claims must do so with Emergency Management B.C. by Aug. 24. 

"Oh, that's fantastic," said Mayor John Ranta in an interview on Monday. "There was no guarantee that the disaster financial assistance would kick in."

There are about 40 properties whose owners can apply for help from the province, but it could take weeks for the compensation to come through.

"Certainly the teams at Emergency Management B.C. will be moving to get them their resources as quickly as they can," Anton said.

Cleanup underway

Flash flooding pushed open the kitchen door to 68-year-old Barb Elmer's home and filled the ground floor of her home with water and silt.

"It's hell," she said.

"I can't eat, I can't sleep," she said, ankle deep in mud as she surveyed the damage.

On Monday Ranta signed an evacuation order for 23 homes and an evacuation alert for about 40 others, but geotechnical assessments on some homes could allow some residents to return home Tuesday or Wednesday, the mayor said.

Ranta said one home was knocked off its foundation, with mud and debris filling its basement, and about six others could be condemned because of the damage they suffered.

Lawns and gardens were replaced by river channels, with floodwaters eroding soil around curbs and gutters, said Ranta.

"There are piles of debris everywhere in the community."

Residents of Cache Creek have been scooping up and hauling away mud and debris deposited across their community by the devastating weekend flood.

Kailene Siemens came from Abbotsford with her mother and two sisters to help people in Cache Creek.

"If this happened to us, we'd appreciate the help, and it would mean a lot if people could help too," she said. 

'It was like nothing we've ever seen before'

A local park was flooded, as was the fire hall, where volunteers spent about an hour clearing away debris that caved in a door so they could move the emergency vehicles, he said.

Ranta said the water and debris swept away some of the firefighters' gear and damaged equipment that allowed members to fill their self-contained breathing apparatus.

"It was unbelievable. It was horrendous. It was like nothing we've ever seen before," he said.

Backhoes and dump trucks operated by municipal staff from Cache Creek and nearby Ashcroft cleaned up the damage, and people went to work with shovels and wheelbarrows, he said.

Ranta says he expects the storm will cost the village at least $400,000 and local property owners millions more.

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