The nightmare began Christmas Day in the municipality of Sechelt, about 50 kilometres northwest of Vancouver on British Columbia’s lower Sunshine Coast.
A sinkhole appeared on a vacant lot in the Seawatch Concordia subdivision.
It measured about 12 metres deep, 3.7 metres wide at ground level and was almost three times as wide at the base.
Rae-Dene Pednaud carts a load of belongings in a children’s wagon during a snow fall. (Ed Pednaud)
The company that owned the lot, Concordia Development, poured nearly 40 truckloads of dirt into the hole to fill it.
The district called for a geotechnical report that showed sinkholes could be expected happen again in the subdivision, known as the Seawatch area.
Sure enough, several did.
So on Feb. 7, Sechelt authorities issued an evacuation alert to residents of 14 homes urging them to prepare to leave.
They will likely be leaving on Friday, as a local state of emergency was expected to be issued for the area.
Henry Pednaud stands under a sign on his street. The Pednaud family is one of 14 being displaced by an evacuation advisory as sinkholes appear in their Sechelt neighbourhood. (Ed Pednaud)
There is still no word of when–or if–residents will be able to return.
The residents, to say the least, have been thrown for a loop.
“I look around and go, ‘Oh my God I can’t believe we’re never coming back here,'” Rae-Dene Pednaud told CBC News from the front of nearly empty home.
“I just don’t know what–I don’t know what’ll happen to these houses, and they’ve told us to leave our heat on and and a light on the porch to let them know we’ve left.”
Another resident, Rod Goy, told CTV News the words he would use to describe the situation are “¨Panic, shock, anger, depressed.”
Concordia Develpment is now facing a number of lawsuits.
With files from CBC, CTV, Toronto Star
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