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Warmth pushes river to rise

Although not hit with the same degree of wet weather as other parts of the province, Prince George remains under a provincial flood watch.

Although not hit with the same degree of wet weather as other parts of the province, Prince George remains under a provincial flood watch.

According to the BC River Forecast Centre, the Fraser River is expected to rise to around 10 metres by tomorrow.

Last Wednesday it hit a high of 10.02 m.

A flood watch means that river levels are rising and will approach or may exceed bankfull.

Over the weekend, heavy rains doused the north Okanagan and Shushwap regions rather than the Upper Fraser basin, said centre head David Campbell. However, there's a "fairly good snowmelt rate" means another surge of water through Prince George.

"[Water levels] will be getting back up to levels that we saw earlier in the week or potentially higher," Campbell said.

As of Sunday morning, the South Fort George gauge was reporting a Fraser River height of 9.1 m.

Prince George-Valemount MLA and Justic Minister Shirley Bond stressed the importance of heeding evacuation orders and exercising caution around the affected bodies of water.

"There is unbelievable unpredictability and instability of the banks of the rivers right now," she said. "Stay away and use extreme caution."

On Sunday afternoon, an elderly man was found dead after having been swept away by a flash flood that washed out a bridge near his Castlegar property on Saturday afternoon.

"If you have concerns about your property, do not go alone or instead consider contacting the local authorities," Bond said, expressing her sadness over the death.