Green Avenue Evacuees

Nearly 40 people remain unable to go home after last week's heavy rain storm.

The residents of Gabion Court on Green Avenue in Penticton were evacuated Thursday afternoon because the slope above 11 townhouses has been weakened by the rain and muddy water has been washed towards the buildings.

A Geo-Technical engineer released a report on Monday saying remedial work needs to be done to stop the flow of water over the bank. Monitoring stations need to be put in place before people can go home.

Under the Provincial Emergency Program, evacuees are entitled to food and accommodations for 72 hours. A preliminary geo-technical report on Friday required a thorough slope stability analysis to be performed over the weekend, so the City has asked for, and been approved for, an extension of those services until Thursday July 13th. After that, if the evacuation order hasn't been lifted, the evacuees will have to find their own accommodations.

The City is pursuing assistance from local non-profit groups on behalf of the evacuees. Council is in recess until Wednesday morning when it will devise a remediation plan based on the full geo-technical report expected at that time.