‘Dark and cold’: Residents of flooded Kelowna, B.C., apartment building still without power | 24CA News
It’s been 4 days since a 32-unit condominium constructing in Kelowna, B.C., flooded, and since then, residents have been with out energy.
On Thursday, a metropolis water essential broke close to the intersection of Highway 97 and Pandosy Street, sending water into the foyer and parkade of Mill Creek Landing on Water Street.
“I woke up to find out the pipe burst down the block and pooled water into our building, we got pretty flooded. It was to the point where the lobby had couches that were actually floating around the lobby,” stated Mill Creek Landing resident Spencer Alves.
“There was a lot of water that got into the parkade as well, a lot of cars have been damaged. There’s thankfully no first-floor units in our building so none of the units got damaged.”
However, the constructing’s electrical system sustained vital harm and the facility to the constructing was turned off.
And in accordance with a letter posted within the foyer of the condominium constructing, the facility might be off till subsequent week, or longer as a result of an important piece of kit was broken.
“There are no emergency lights, the fire alarm system is actually not on right now. Going through the stairwells and the hallways it is pitch black. The elevators are out too so it’s just stairs,” stated Alves.
“Right now there’s a bunch of debris on the stairs … that hasn’t been cleaned up. It’s frankly dangerous and you need to have some kind of light source. Most people are just using the lights on their phones.”
Alves says the constructing occupancy hasn’t been revoked, and residents are in a position to keep at their very own threat however are inspired to search out short-term housing.
“Because we can still occupy the building we can’t get emergency social service support, or ESS,” stated Alves.
“Because there was no damage to the unit themselves, renters’ insurance doesn’t do anything, landlords insurance doesn’t do anything, and strata insurance is just for the building it’s self so we are just high and dry.”
Flooded parkade on the Mill Creek Landing condominium constructing in Kelowna, B.C., on Thursday.
Mitch Remenda / Submitted
Flooded foyer on the Mill Creek Landing condominium constructing in Kelowna, B.C., on Thursday.
Mitch Remenda / Submitted
In the meantime, Alves went on to say that he can’t afford to eat out on daily basis or discover a new place to stay till the facility is restored.
“The one thing we do still have is running water at the very least but there’s no hot water. It means we can’t cook any food, we can’t clean our clothes, we can’t do the laundry,” continued Alves. “We can’t keep any of our food. I just had to go through my freezer and throw out everything because it’s all gone bad because there’s no refrigeration. We’re just sitting in the dark and the cold with flashlights and candles.”
Alves is asking on town for assist.
“They fixed the road, they fixed the pipe, they cleared the water, they dusted their hands and they walked away. But we’re still dealing with the repercussions of what happened,” stated Alves.
“If you asked me, I think this is something that that the city should be taking care of. It was their pipe on their property that flooded our building.”
The damaged water essential was repaired shortly after the flood, nonetheless restoration work of the condominium constructing remains to be ongoing.
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