- 18,000 people in British Columbia, Canada, were trapped by flooding.
- More rain is expected.
- The death toll is likely to rise.
After mudslides destroyed roads, houses, bridges and other critical infrastructure, approximately 18,000 people in Canada’s westernmost provinces are still trapped by floods, which may be the country’s worst natural disaster.
The flooding that subsided on Thursday helped rescue efforts, but the downpour sealed off entire towns in British Columbia (BC) and cut off access to Vancouver, Canada’s largest port, disrupting an already strained global supply chain.
Read | “We are in a quagmire”-Canada sends troops to the flood-ravaged Pacific coast
After the “Hot Dome” brought record temperatures to British Columbia this summer, large-scale wildfires ravaged several British Columbia communities, and floods occurred a few months later.
These fires may leave the mountains without vegetation, leading to floods and mudslides, and experts warn that the climate crisis is making weather events more extreme and frequent.
Canadian Minister of Emergency Preparedness, Bill Blair, said on Thursday that the federal government will assist British Columbia in rebuilding and restoring critical infrastructure in communities affected by floods.
Uncertainty persists
Read | Police say at least one person was killed in a Canadian mudslide
On Thursday afternoon, Blair told reporters: “I know there are still a lot of uncertainty and anxiety in this challenging time.”
“But I want to assure all Canadians, especially the people of British Columbia, that we will provide support and relief there, and we will work with governments at all levels to ensure that they receive the support and necessary services they need.”
Al Jazeera’s Shihab Rattansi reported from Abbotsford, a small town about 70 kilometers east of Vancouver, that the town was severely affected by flooding, but there was still huge uncertainty.
Rattansi reports: “Just because the water level is receding does not mean that even roads, bridges and highways are safe.”
“Due to the drop in water volume-about two days of rainfall in a month on Sunday and Monday-and large areas are still underwater. Economic activity in the area has been severely affected.”
Earlier in the day, the Governor of British Columbia, John Hogan, declared a state of emergency on Wednesday. He said that the death toll caused by the current flood of 1 person is most likely to rise.
Abbotsford officials worry that these waters will flood the local pumping station and force all 160,000 residents to evacuate.
Resident Steve Gosselin told AFP:
This is the worst flood I have ever seen.
The mayor of Abbotsford, Henry Braun, said that hundreds of people were evacuated from the Sumas Grassland overnight because the pumping station might be moved north from the Nooksack River in the United States. The transport flood was submerged.
‘Big bill’
Braun said on Thursday that the condition of the pumping station has not changed and that the water level in certain areas is receding “at a pretty good rate (speed)”-but he warned that the crisis is far from over.
He said at a briefing: “We will continue to move towards the recovery phase of this emergency,” while noting that more heavy rain is expected next week.
Braun said: “We are still far from getting out of the predicament,” adding that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and many provincial governors have promised him that they will help.
He added that it is estimated that repairing local damage will cost up to $792 million:
I believe what they say. But I have also prepared for them a big bill at the end of this.
This strongly suggests that the final costs associated with the BC flood will far exceed the $285 million insured loss caused by the wildfire that hit the Fort McMurray oil production area in Alberta in May 2016.
“It’s easy to become the most costly natural disaster in Canadian history. It’s not even close,” Blake Shaffer, a professor of economics at the University of Calgary and an expert on climate policy, tweeted.
Farmers said that the disruption of operations at the Port of Vancouver will exacerbate existing supply chain problems and may even make Christmas trees more difficult to find.
BC Agriculture Minister Lana Popham also stated that thousands of farm animals have died and more animals are in “difficulty”, trapped and facing shortages of food and drinking water.
This aerial handout image taken by the city of Abbotsford via Twitter on November 16, 2021 shows the flooding on the Sumas Meadows in Abbotsford, Canada.
At the same time, the Canadian military joined the rescue effort on Thursday, deploying a Hercules transport aircraft, several search helicopters and hundreds of soldiers to the area, while thousands of people were on standby.
Military spokesman Alex Roy said their activities “will include the provision of evacuation assistance, the transportation of emergency response personnel and equipment, and regional reconnaissance.”
From Sunday to Monday, in Hope Town, about 150 kilometers east of Vancouver, more than 1,000 travelers were trapped by mudslides, rocks and debris.
Meanwhile, after the body of a woman was found near Lillooet, 250 kilometers northeast of Vancouver, this week, the search for more likely victims who was washed away in a mudslide continues.
Federal police said at least four people were missing in the mudslide.
We want to hear your opinion on the news. Subscribe to news 24 Be part of the dialogue in the comment section of this article.
