‘We lost everything’: Many Princeton, BC residents are still digging their way out of the flood | The Canadian News

Mario Loutef slept little during the four days leading up to Saturday, when he piled up his ruined belongings on the street outside his home in Princeton, BC.

A large part of the community center, two hours south of Kamloops, was decimated when the Tulameen River overflowed its banks, flooding houses and forcing people to evacuate.

The community still remains on evacuation alert, but for many, like Loutef, the damage could not get worse.

“He turned the corner and then it was like a tsunami because it filled the streets on the way here. But once they took care of that, that’s when the water took over my space and everyone else on the road, “he told The Canadian Press.

A layer of black mud covered everything on the first floor of the house. Loutef has been working around the clock since he was allowed access. Boards have been ripped off the walls, a dirty line about 2 meters high on the wall shows how high the water rose.

“I lost everything. We lost everything, my wife and I. I don’t know where to start. I don’t know where it’s going to end,” said Loutef, who has lived in the house for the past four years.

“I’m trying to save my tools, which are my bread and butter, because if I don’t have them I can’t generate income. I’m pretty much in the trash … pun intended. “

The streets in the area are closed to traffic. Suction trucks are trying to remove standing water from some basements. The streets and sidewalks are covered in mud.

“It’s like a one-man battle,” said Loutef, who worked alone.

“I remember my wife telling me, ‘Don’t forget to take your shoes off,’ so I’ll have to show her. She didn’t want to come here because she’s having a concussion. She also said not to smoke in the house, ”he said, throwing a cigarette butt on the ground.

Piles of rubble can be seen everywhere, but Lisa Brosseau and her husband Brian Quinn brought friends over to help.

Brosseau said that even though the basement was flooded, she feels lucky that a previous owner had raised the house after a flood 35 years ago.

“We had a new Airbnb suite and it doesn’t exist anymore, but the rest of our house is fine. He never made it to the top. We have our home. A lot of people around here don’t do it and it’s really difficult, ”Brosseau said.

Quinn pointed out where the water was entering the basement.

“You can see it came down through the back door and it slammed open and it broke the door frame, and inside it was swirling like some kind of vortex, and everything was wrapped up and smashed,” Quinn said, pointing to the basement.

“The power of water is incredible.”

Brosseau said she was concerned there would be a flood despite sandbagging efforts and saw her fears come true.

“We were at the end of the street and there was a boom and a pop and it took over the banks,” he said.

Many Princeton residents went from house to house offering a helping hand to the less fortunate.

“Our city is amazing,” said Britanny Antonick.

“It is devastating. I think he’s still shocked. All basements are completely saturated. We are just trying to do the best we can. “