The Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship has upgraded flood warning and watch advisories for the Fraser and Chilcotin Rivers.It comes after water overflowed the landslide that had built up on the latter 18 km southeast of Hanceville, a small town 95 km southwest of Williams Lake. The flood warning, which indicates that river levels "have exceeded bankfull or will exceed bankfull immediately," has been extended past where the Chilcotin meets the Fraser to Big Bar Creek, 50 km to the south. A flood watch, which indicates that river levels "are rising and will approach or may exceed bankfull" has remained in place between there and Hope.The move was made just hours after water began making its way over the top of the dam Monday morning. The flow "increased rapidly," and by the late afternoon appeared to be "continuing to gain volume and momentum.".In a news release, the province explained that a "significant amount of instability and bank failures have been observed" along the aforementioned area of the Chilcotin River, increasing the possibility of "additional landslides or bank erosion." Additionally, the flow of water was found to include "significant woody debris."Emergency alerts were also sent out advising people near certain sections of the rivers to immediately evacuate. The advisories, issued by the British Columbia Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness on Monday, impact those along the Chilcotin River from Hanceville to the tributary's confluence with the Fraser, and from there to the Gang Ranch Road Suspension Bridge, 20 km to the south. While the danger is not as extreme further downstream, the province has nonetheless cautioned against spending time on or near any section of both rivers due to the risk of increased water levels..In a post on X Monday evening, Emergency Management and Climate Readiness Minister Bowinn Ma said "the leading edge of the surge" was expected to hit the town of Lillooet "before long.""Please continue to stay off of and away from the banks of the Chilcotin and Fraser Rivers!" she added. "This fast-moving water carries a lot of debris and can cause the river to rise very quickly without warning."The situation is rapidly evolving, and officials will be releasing updates as they become available.
