North Okanagan

Photo: Contributed - Tyrrell Ruff

Gord Molendyk, the information officer for the North Okanagan Regional District (RDNO) says there has been a slight increase in flows for the Shuswap River after Monday night's rain and a flood watch state is still in place by the BC River Forecast Centre.

This year's flooding problems along the Shuswap River prompted North Okanagan Emergency Management to be the first Emergency Operation Centres to use state of the art technology to gain situational and planning awareness of flood affected areas.

Molendyk says North Okanagan Emergency Management hired a local company, Flat Eight Productions, to fly their remote controlled helicopters known as a UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) over many sections of the river and over several creeks to take digital photographs of the area.

"These remote helicopters allowed staff to get a very close hand look at bridges and areas of concern where a much larger aircraft would not be able fly. The photographs that were taken could become very important at a later date when it comes to looking at repairs to not only the infrastructure, but also to private property in the area.

The Regional Emergency Operations Centre is currently working with the Provincial Government to put the process in place to apply for Disaster Financial Assistance (DFA) as a result of the flooding.

The RDNO is asking residents to record the damages with photos, and to keep documentation and receipts to show the damage from the flood waters.