Flash flooding in Batchelor Heights caught on video during Thursday storm

A homeowner in Batchelor Heights says he plans to contact the City of Kamloops after Thursday’s intense storm sent a torrent of water through his property, leaving his basement and garage flooded.

Ernie Slater said his home, in the 1700-block of North River Drive, became riverfront property briefly on Thursday when a late-afternoon storm dumped heavy rains on the city and sent water barreling through his yard.

“It happens whenever there’s that torrential rain,” he said.

“When we bought the house, there was no mention of this from the previous owner, and I found out later from neighbours that it happens. This is the second time in four years for us.”

Slater said his garage and basement are flooded.

“The garage has a good foot of water in it, so we’ve got to deal with that,” he said.

“The basement’s soaked, so right now we’re pulling stuff our of there because we use it a lot for storage.”

Slater said he plans to contact the City of Kamloops to see what can be done to prevent future flooding.

“I haven’t yet, but this time I will be,” he said.

“I know there are a couple other houses up the street that have had issues. … They built this street in the late ‘70s, early ‘80s, and since then they’ve built a lot of places up above, for sure.

“A lot of people have drainage that runs through the street and ends up in my yard. I don’t know what, but they’ve got to do something.”