Courtenay residents returned to their homes yesterday after the city rescinded an evacuation order it had issued on Wednesday in areas adjacent to the Tsolum, Puntledge and Courtenay rivers due to flooding.
City staff and emergency responders went door to door in the affected areas acting on an order pursuant to the Emergency Program Act beginning at 2:15 p.m. Wednesday.
Individuals were required to leave those areas immediately and proceed to higher ground away from the river. The RCMP enforced the evacuation order.
The flooding also led to numerous road closures and traffic diversions around Ryan Road and elsewhere
Meanwhile, on Thursday, the Comox Valley Regional District (CVRD), in conjunction with Island Health, issued a boil water advisory.
Due to the intense rainfall experienced over the last several days, turbidity levels have risen in both Comox Lake and the Puntledge River. The water that supplies the Comox Valley water local service areas originates in Comox Lake and is taken from the Puntledge River and delivered to approximately 41,000 residents.
All users of the Comox Valley water system (especially those with compromised immune systems), are advised to boil their drinking water for one minute at a rolling boil.