Return home after Parker Cove flooding smooth for some - others not so much

Photo: Jack Jmaeff/Facebook

The return home has gone smoothly for some Parker Cove residents in the wake of flooding earlier this month – for others, not so much.

Bev Hunter says it came as "quite a surprise to be able to go home" this week as the Okanagan Indian Band rescinded the last of its evacuation orders in the area Thursday morning.

That followed severe flooding in the Westside neighbourhood as Whiteman's Creek spilled over its banks at the beginning of the month.

Hunter says she was actually already in the neighbourhood, staying at a friend's house outside the evacuation area.

"My house is fine, I'm one of the lucky ones," she said.

"But there's quite a bit of devastation in and along the creek."

Hunter says she'll be spending the next while "getting rid of sandbags."

Willie Stewart won't be going home just yet, however.

There's still no power or water to her home.

"I'm not home yet, we're still in the hotel," she said Friday from the Fairfield Inn & Suites in Vernon.

"ESS (Emergency Social Services) has taken really good care of us," she said.

Stewart says she's waiting for her insurance adjuster to view damage to her home next week.

She's unsure of the extent of the flooding damage, but says "the creek was gushing at my balcony and foundation."

She was back on site for a look Thursday and says crews and machinery are still working in Parker Cove as services are restored.

"It would be nice to get back home ... I'm just taking it day by day," she said.

The OKIB lifted the evacuation order at 9 a.m. Thursday for homes along Falcon Avenue, Deer and Elk streets.

Photo: OKIB