鈥擪amloops This Week

At least 22 people from eight homes in a rural area of Kamloops have been evacuated and a state of local emergency has been declared due to fears of a landslide.

Tammy Robertson, the city鈥檚 emergency operations centre information officer, said the residents have been evacuated from the Palmer-Forsyth area near Rayleigh, on Ramage Road.

鈥淭he City of Kamloops has been working with geotechnical experts to monitor the area for several weeks and identified a recent significant change in the landscape, causing the city to take this action,鈥� Robertson said. 鈥淧ooling of water has resulted in sloughing of the hillside.鈥�

Robertson said everyone who has registered at the city鈥檚 evacuation centre have been offered emergency support services for accommodation and meals for 72 hours. They are being helped by city bylaws staff.

Robertson said the city is working with the provincial government, the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, Fortis BC and BC Hydro in monitoring and assessing the situation.

Earlier this month, a small mudslide occurred in the area, while last week, a KTW reader reported what appeared to be a rockslide on the north side of Highway 5 North, with the debris stopping on a ledge above the highway.