The City of Merritt says work to find housing for people who have been displaced by flooding in November is still ongoing.

Emergency Operations Centre Information Officer, Jean Strong, says of the 808 properties impacted by flooding on the Coldwater River, there are 266 that remain on evacuation order.

She tells NL News there are also people who aren’t on an evacuation order, though their houses need to be repaired before they can return.

“[Through a housing needs assessment, we’ve identified two categories of people that might need that interim or longer term housing support,” Strong said. “Those that can rebuild and will be able to head back into their homes in a number of months and those who might be permanently displaced, for example due to concerns of future flooding.”

“Right now the City of Merritt is looking at what options they have available to them for housing those people. We do expect that the majority of people will be home within six months. However, that still leaves us with likely a few hundred people that need housing in the interim.”

Strong says some of those interim housing options could include modular or tiny homes as well so that residents can return back to the community they were forced to leave in November.

“There are so many options to consider but they all come down to the same goal, of giving those residents who are returning a sense of stability and safety and a sense of community when they are housed or displaced outside of the community,” Strong added.

Merrittonians began returning home on Nov. 23 as part of what the City said was a “robust” return home plan.

“People who are still displaced outside of Merritt at this time, we are asking them to please get in contact with the Red Cross who is arranging the placement of those evacuees into hotel rooms in Merritt,” Strong said.

“From there as a middle term or a longer term housing solution is made available, we’ll be able to place people into those homes.”