The sa国际传媒 Coroners Service is urging people to be extra cautious around water-related activities as it investigates eight recent drownings.
The youngest victim to drown was a 12-year-old girl, whose body was recovered this week from Skaha Lake in the Okanagan after a sandbar she was standing on gave way.
The coroners service says high runoff from the winter's snowpack and heavy rains since then have left many rivers, streams and lakes running much faster and with higher-than-usual water levels.
Chief coroner Lisa LaPointe said that means activities such as rafting, canoeing and tubing are now much riskier.
She said visitors to sa国际传媒 may not realize that local waters are likely to be more hazardous compared with elsewhere in sa国际传媒 or even the world, and that the water is often colder and lakes have steep dropoffs.
Chris Duffy, executive director for Emergency Management sa国际传媒, said water levels and flow rates in the Interior have been the highest he's ever seen them.
