Photo: Brendan Kergin

A regional district in southern British Columbia has declared a state of local emergency and issued an evacuation alert for all but two of its communities over flooding concerns caused by a weekend storm.

The Regional District of Central Kootenay issued an evacuation alert for all of its communities except for the cities of Castlegar and Nelson late Saturday evening.

A spokesman for the regional district called it an "unprecedented" alert, prompted by concerns about a storm and the melting snowpack.

It followed that with evacuation orders for the small community of Crawford Bay, ordering more than 40 properties to be cleared.

Much of southern B.C.'s Okanagan and Kootenay regions are under flood watches, with residents advised to be ready to leave their homes.

British Columbia's central Interior has already been the subject of several flood warnings this season.