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~ Enderby Cliffs
~ Floods
~ ~ Flood of
1928
~ ~ Flood of
1935
~ ~ Flood of 1948
~ ~ Flood of
1972
~ ~ 1990 Debris
Torrent
~ Geology of North
Okanagan
~ Naming of Enderby
~ Shuswap River
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The effects of a cold spring and then a
sudden hot spell that caused heavy rains were felt in the form of heavy flooding in 1948.
Flood waters reached the eighteen point six foot mark, just one and a half feet lower than
the 1928 flood level.
The dyke at Hupel was washed out and buildings were threatened and farms were ruined. Owen
Rosoman, Ray Koskimaki, and H. Kellett were evacuated at Mara. North Enderby was seriously
affected, as there was a severe threat of flooding.
Sandbag dykes were built under the supervision of Captain Houston. Each sand bag weighed 120 pounds; they were stacked in rows of five deep. The dyke started from the Houston's place, went through McDermand's and Hoover's to Will Mack's. Another dyke was built between the river and home of McGregor Clarke. Unfortunately, water later seeped through the dykes and flooded fields. Entire farms were covered and some crops were lost.
In town, there was water on the floor of Enderby General Hospital, and
basements everywhere were flooded. The Polson subdivision was in serious danger,
especially the Wilson and Stroulger homes. Water was found in the buildings of the Enderby
Meat Market and the Canadian Legion.
As always it seems, roads were seriously affected. Mabel Lake Road was under thirty-two
inches of water. As George Rands remembers: "We had to put a piece of plywood in
front of the vehicles to push the water aside so we could drive through the water. On the
Trinity Valley Road, the bridge at Ashton Creek overflowed and part of George Rands'
pasture was used as a detour. Another temporary road was made from Watershed Road down
through the top of Peavine corner. The road was dirt, and it worked well until it rained,
when it turned to mud. Marie Blackburn drove her team and democrat full of high school
students to town because the bus could not run.
As a result of this damage, the Ashton Creek road was raised so it was on a higher level
than the creek so it would not flood. In 1950/51, the road was plowed again to further
this raise it even further.
The 1948 flood was a large flood and it too is well remembered by the residents of the
town who lived in Enderby at the time.
Shelly Glen
ALF School 1989