- On Sunday and Monday, heavy rain hit Canada.
- People were forced to evacuate their homes.
- One person has died so far.
Federal police said on Tuesday that at least one person was killed in the heavy rain, which forced thousands of people in western Canada to evacuate their homes and trapped motorists in mudslides.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said the search and rescue team found the body of a woman in a mudslide near Lillooet, 250 kilometers north of Vancouver.
Chief of Staff Janelle Shoihet added that investigators have received two reports of missing persons, but they believe that “there may be other occupied vehicles lost in the slide.”
“The total number of missing persons and vehicles has not been confirmed,” she said.
Read | Deadly heat wave sweeps through Canada and the U.S.
Debris, rocks and debris washed away several highways to Vancouver and trapped hundreds of motorists who were rescued by military helicopters as night fell on Monday.
The local TV station aired video clips of the Trans-Canada highway connecting coastal cities with other parts of Canada. A bridge was also washed away.
According to Drive BC on Twitter, other routes have also been closed:
The highway has been closed until further notice.
Environment Canada said that on Sunday and Monday, the rainfall in Vancouver and its surrounding areas was as high as 250 mm—the area usually receives rainfall within a month—and was also hit by a rare tornado last week.
The extreme weather occurred after British Columbia suffered record high temperatures in the summer, which killed more than 500 people and destroyed a town in a wildfire.
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