The Comox Valley Regional District, a community of about 72,000 people on mid-Vancouver Island, has lifted a state of local emergency that was issued on Friday in response to flood conditions.
On its website, the district says the emergency operations centre will remain open “to support registered evacuees and coordinate the transition from response to recovery activities.”
Last week, heavy rainfall and snowmelt from warm weather had combined and overwhelmed the local waterways, causing rivers and creeks to breach their banks.
On Friday the district said river flows were higher than what is expected during a 100-year flood event.
District chair Will Cole-Hamilton told CBC’s On the Island that the rivers were still moving fast on Monday and residents should avoid wandering too close to them.
“But we’re at this point, relatively encouraged by the lack of damage,” Cole-Hamilton said. “There were no injuries, there were no fatalities.”
Cole-Hamilton said he hopes the sunshine in the forecast for the new few days helps get water levels back to normal.
RV park on the mend
Evacuation orders for the Maple Pool Campground and 12 other properties were lifted over the weekend.
Campground resident Carol James told CBC All Points West that keeping everyone safe was a group effort.
“We work together when we have to,” James said, adding that residents with trucks towed RVs and fifth-wheels in lower areas to safety.
“We’re a community here.”
(Maryse Zeidler/CBC)
James says the campground is prone to some flooding each year, but she hadn’t seen anything like this year’s flooding since 2014.
“We’d had two days of absolutely torrential rain, so everyone was watching the river and then it was a high tide at the highest tide of the month,” James said.
“Everything was against us.”
James, who chose not to evacuate, noted that first responders maintained a presence at the campground over the weekend and were reassuring.
She also commended local elected officials for showing up and showing their support.
“That was much appreciated,” she said.
Corrections
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A previous version of this story said the City of Courtenay issued a flood warning and said river flows were higher than what is expected during a 100-year flood event. In fact, the River Forecast Centre issued the warning and the Comox Valley Regional District commented on expected river flow.
Jan 31, 2026 7:38 PM PST
