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Cawstonites answer the call for sandbagging help

A call out to social media prompted about 20 people to come help sandbag a home on Sharp Road

About 20 people answered the call to help sandbag a property on Sharp Road in Cawston Wednesday night.

Water from Keremeos Creek near where it should enter the Similkameen River kicked back and surrounded the property.

The home happens to belong to the daughter of George Bush, director for Area B (Cawston).

“It was pretty neat about 20 people were driving up and down the road. They showed up to help,” he said during a phone call with the Review.

Earlier in the evening messages were sent out on local Facebook pages including the Keremeos Review’s, that help was needed down in Cawston and not long after the people started showing up.

Bush said about a half dozen properties close to dike in Cawston were experiencing flooding in their yards, basements and crawlspaces because of the raging Similkameen River.

He said the homes were mostly located between Newton Road and Daly Road.

The dike was recently repaired but water is seeping through it.

Related: Cawston dike repair underway

“No, the dike is not failing. The water is just seeping through it. Right where I am standing the river is about four-feet down from the top of the dike. You can’t sandbag the seepage through the dike. The water just pools, you can’t redirect it.”

Help the Keremeos Review keep our community up to date on flooding happenings. Please send your photos and videos our Facebook page or email editor@keremeosreview.com

Related: Highway 3 between Keremeos, Hedley closed