Maple Ridge, British Columbia — The flooding that swept through British Columbia’s interior affected the Canadian auto community in many ways, but perhaps none so profoundly as Lordco Auto Parts’ Merritt, B.C. store.
The rain began on Nov. 13, causing severe flooding throughout much of the province’s southern mainland and prompting some communities to declare a state of emergency.
On Nov. 15, Merritt city officials ordered its 7,100 residents to leave town.
“I did not know about the flood until the water was up beside the store. No more than a half-hour later, we were told to evacuate,” said manager of Lordco’s Merritt store, Mike Coates.
“But as an essential service worker, I was allowed to remain behind.”
Over the next several days, Coates and his wife were isolated in their home, luckily untouched by the flooding, but forced to melt snow in the bathtub for cleaning water and rely on a stocked freezer while services were restored.
By Nov. 18, Coates had managed to make his way back to his store. Unable to re-open to the public amid a state of emergency, he put a call in to the city to see what he could do to lend a hand.
“The first to contact me was city personnel. They needed batteries, work lights, and tools to keep up their 24-hour workdays. Then the road crews started contacting the store to find parts to repair their trucks,” said Coates. “We also did some after-hours hydraulic hose repairs for equipment used in the recovery effort.”
Lordco’s Merritt store re-opened to the public on Dec. 6 with all but one employee back to work.
Knowing the devastation caused by this weather first-hand, the employees of Lordco Merritt banded together to give back to those who helped get their store back on it’s feet so quickly, donating $16,227 to the British Columbia Floods and Extreme Weather Appeal.
Lordco, as a company, agreed to match the employees’ donation, bringing the total to $32,454.
“Seeing people’s water-damaged possessions piled up on the sides of the roads waiting for scrap pick up was heart-wrenching,” said Coates.
“It will be a long time until life is back to normal for the people of Merritt but seeing people in town step up to help others and the donation made by Lordco Auto Parts gives me hope that things will get better.”
Click here to donate to the British Columbia Floods and Extreme Weather Appeal.
