At least 300 homes have been evacuated, and roads and schools have been closed in the city of Duncan, B.C., where heavy rain and a high tide caused widespread flooding.

After a week of wet weather, the local Cowichan and Koksilah Rivers rose high enough to spill into the city's streets.

That prompted authorities to declare a state of emergency in the area, which lies on the southeast of Vancouver Island and is home to some 27,000 people.

Due to a limited number of hotel rooms in the community authorities asked residents to stay with family members or seek shelter in a temporary emergency centre. About 100 residents registered to sleep at the centre.

Cars lay submerged up to the dashboard in some cases, and dozens of homes flooded. Authorities are assessing whether some residents may soon be able to return to their homes.

Local residents seemed to be holding up well under the circumstances. Gordon Lecouffe joked about having to change his daily routine.

"I had to put my bathing suit on to get out of my house this morning," he said. "I'm driving down the street and I've got three inches of water sloshing on the floor of my car."

Others like Charlie Coleman, a principal at nearby Cowichan Middle School, chose to travel by boat. He paddled to work in a kayak even though the school was closed for the day.

"It wasn't safe for the kids to get here," he said. "But we wanted to be here just in case anyone showed up, so might as well make the most of it."

Roger Stanyer, a retired woodworker, said low land, high tides and high rainfall in the area make periodic flooding unavoidable.

"It's certainly higher than normal," he said. "But not as high as it has been in the past, quite a few times."

More rain is in the forecast for the region over the next week, and another high tide is expected Saturday morning.

Local residents and officials are stacking sandbags in case the water level rises further.

With a report from CTV British Columbia and files from The Canadian Press