Floodwaters had drained enough by early afternoon Saturday for most evacuated locals to return home, a regional spokesman said.

“North Cowichan just opened Beverly Street at noon,” said Joe Barry.

“That eliminates that whole detour around Herd Road.”

However, motorists are advised to avoid, if possible, the whole area around Jaynes, Lakes, Tzouhalem, and east of the Island Highway near the river, officials suggest.

“Lakes Road between the roundabout and Tzouhalem Road will remain closed because the adjacent water is too high,” Barry said.

Folks can go to North Cowichan’s dog park near the Lakes Road roundabout to claim property that drifted off in Friday’s flood.

“There’s a huge accumulation of personal items that floated away from backyards, and North Cowichan has moved them to the dog-park parking lot,” Barry said.

The list of claimable stuff includes wood, cushions, toys, lawn chairs and “who knows what.”

It’s unknown exactly how many folks had to leave their homes due to Friday’s early-morning flood that straddled North Cowichan, Duncan and Cowichan Tribes territory.

Some were helped at Island Savings Centre’s social lounge emergency centre, and space in the centre’s multi-use gym.

Municipal officials told Barry the flood’s culprit — that forced Cowichan into a state of emergency — was a high tide in Cowichan Bay that stopped water in a rain-swollen Cowichan River from draining away.

“No dikes were breached,” Barry said.

“High tides in the bay caused the river to slow down so everything backed up, including the creeks.”

Water eventually swamped properties around Tzouhalem, including Duncan and the Cowichan Sportsplex parking lot.

Regional crews and volunteers fought back with sandbags.

“There’s a dike right across Lakes between Tzouhalem and the roundabout,” said Barry.

“It was high tides, excessive rain and no break in the rain systems.”

Forewarned is forearmed for future flooding.

“An emergency operations team will now look at pre-planning and various flooding scenarios.”

Barry cheered a platoon of local volunteers who helped out using sandbags provided by Home Depot. Wal-Mart also offered assistance.

“I’ve seen and heard about the incredible response from the community,” he said.

“People calling to volunteer has been huge.”

Call 250-746-2560 to pitch in.

Meanwhile, Barry said North Cowichan has taken steps to stop possible contamination from waste in the Tzouhalem Road sewage lagoons.

“At 8:45 a.m., as a precautionary measure, North Cowichan decided to chlorinate the south-end water system and at that time there were no known health risks.

“They expect chlorination to continue for several days and agents will be testing water samples.”

Visit www.cvrd.bc.ca for updates.