A 'once in 500 years' Pacific Northeast storm in British Columbia which caused record rainfall and flooding has left a trail of de...
A 'once in 500 years' Pacific Northeast storm in British Columbia which caused record rainfall and flooding has left a trail of destruction behind including collapsed bridges, submerged roads, and thousands of dead cattle - as officials grapple with emergency evacuations and food shortages.
The Canadian Pacific coast province of British Columbia declared a state of emergency Wednesday following floods and mudslides caused by extremely heavy rainfall, and officials said they expected to find more dead.
After the massive rainfall between Saturday and Monday brought a month's worth of rain in two days, farmers desperately tried to save their dairy cows using boats and jet skis, while authorities pledged with residents not to panic-buy groceries.
'Torrential rains have led to terrible flooding that has disrupted the lives and taken lives of people across BC. I want people to know that the federal government has been engaging with the local authorities,' Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said. 'We're sending resources like the Canadian Armed Forces to support people but also we'll be there for the cleanup and the rebuilding after impacts of these extreme weather events.'
The Canadian government said it was sending the air force to assist with evacuations and to support supply lines.
Flooding is also delaying deliveries of Pfizer Canada products, including the company's coronavirus vaccine.
A 'once in 500 years' Pacific Northeast storm in British Columbia which caused record rainfall and flooding has left a trail of destruction behind
Cows that were stranded in a flooded barn are rescued by a group of people, including a man on a sea doo, after rainstorms lashed the western Canadian province of British Columbia
British Columbia officials are grappling with emergency evacuations, collapsed bridges, submerged roads and food shortages. In this aerial photo, damage caused by heavy rains and mudslides earlier in the week is pictured along the Coquihalla Highway near Hope, British Columbia, Thursday, November 18
After the massive rainfall between Saturday and Monday brought a month's worth of rain in two days, farmers desperately tried to save their dairy cows using boats and jet skis
Community members struggle to rescue stranded cattle from a farm after rainstorms caused flooding and landslides in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada November 16
Recreational vehicles burn during a fire at a business surrounded by floodwaters in Abbotsford, British Columbia, on Wednesday, November 18
In this aerial photo, damage caused by heavy rains and mudslides earlier in the week is pictured along the Coquihalla Highway near Hope, British Columbia on november 18
Produce shelves lie empty at the Save-On-Foods grocery store in Revelstoke, British Columbia, as authorities pledged with residents not to panic-buy groceries
While some towns like Hope, 75 miles east of Vancouver, are facing food shortages because they were cut off by highway washouts and mudslides, others are seeing shelves picked clean by panic buying
Officials in British Columbia are urging residents not to panic-buy food and groceries as the region continues to grapple with the impacts of this week's historic floods.
'Please, do not hoard items. What you need, your neighbours need as well,' John Horgan, the BC premier, said Wednesday. 'We are confident we can restore our supply chains in a quick and orderly manner provided we all act as we have been acting over the past two years'
Save-On-Foods, western Canada's largest grocery retailer, and part of the Jim Pattison Group, also appealed to customers to avoid hoarding
The Canadian Pacific coast province of British Columbia declared a state of emergency Wednesday following floods and mudslides caused by extremely heavy rainfall
Military helicopters already helped evacuate about 300 people from one highway where people were trapped in their cars Sunday night following a mudslide.
'We expect to confirm even more fatalities in the coming days,' British Columbia Premier John Horgan said.
Every major route between the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, and the interior of the province has been cut by washouts, flooding or landslides following record-breaking rain across southern British Columbia between Saturday and Monday. The body of a woman was recovered from one of the mudslides late Monday.
A team of Canadian soldiers was in British Columbia on Thursday to assess the needs of local authorities who are dealing with floods and mudslides that forced evacuations, blocked major highways, caused the death of at least one person and killed thousands of farm animals.
British Columbia Premier John Horgan has declared a state of emergency after record rainfall drenched much of the province´s south for more than 48 hours. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said several hundred Canadian troops will help deal with the devastation.
Officials in British Columbia are urging residents not to panic-buy food and groceries as the region continues to grapple with the impacts of this week's historic floods.
'Please, do not hoard items. What you need, your neighbours need as well,' John Horgan, the BC premier, said Wednesday. 'We are confident we can restore our supply chains in a quick and orderly manner provided we all act as we have been acting over the past two years.'
The Canadian Joint Operations Command said nine soldiers with the Edmonton-based 3 Canadian Division Immediate Response Unit arrived in the province late Wednesday to investigate the scene before planning and coordinating relief efforts.
All major routes between the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, where Canada's third largest city of Vancouver is, and the interior of the province have been cut by washouts, flooding or landslides.
A member of the Doppenberg family removes wasted hay from their barn, damaged from flooding earlier in the week, at their dairy farm in the Sumas Prairie area of Abbotsford on November 18
Supplementary pumps are seen outside of the Barrowtown Pump Station, after rainstorms lashed the western Canadian province of British Columbia, triggering landslides and floods, shutting highways, in Abbotsford, British Columbia
Large truck navigate a water filled road in the Sumas area on November 18
The death toll from massive floods and landslides that devastated parts of British Columbia is set to rise, with the Canadian province declaring a state of emergency on Wednesday and the federal government promising major help. Above, a delivery truck submerged in the flooding
British Columbia Premier John Horgan has declared a state of emergency after record rainfall drenched much of the province´s south for more than 48 hours
Crowds gather along the Trans-Canada highway to view flooding after rainstorms lashed the western Canadian province of British Columbia
Fifty-nine dairy farms scrambled to save their cows. Some were able to load their animals on trucks. A YouTube video shows one person on a jet ski leading a cow through water up to the animals back
Cows that were stranded in a flooded barn are rescued by a group of people, including a man on a sea doo, after rainstorms lashed the western Canadian province of British Columbia
A man lets a dog out of a cage as flood waters rise in Chilliwack, British Columbia, Tuesday, November 16, 2021
With dairy farms underwater around the city of Abbotsford and transportation routes closed, the province could face a shortage of milk products
In this aerial photo, a Canadian Pacific locomotive and its cars are knocked that were knocked off of the train track by heavy rains and mudslides earlier in the week is pictured in the Fraser Canyon near Hope, British Columbia
Flooding is also delaying deliveries of Pfizer Canada products, including the company's coronavirus vaccine.
With dairy farms underwater around the city of Abbotsford and transportation routes closed, the province could face a shortage of milk products.
'There will be a short-term interruption, but everybody that´s involved in the industry is trying to get everything back to normal as quickly as possible to get this whole supply chain thing back to some semblance of normality,' Holger Schwichtenberg, chair of the British Columbia Dairy Association, said Thursday.
On his farm near Agassiz, Schwichtenberg is tending to 50 head of cattle brought from flooded areas around Abbotsford.
Schwichtenberg said 59 dairy farms scrambled to save their cows. Some were able to load their animals on trucks. A YouTube video shows one person on a jet ski leading a cow through water up to the animal´s back.
Abbotsford Mayor Henry Braun said he had heard that about 2,000 cows had died in the flooded area.
Schwichtenberg said closed roads are preventing trucks from collecting milk from farms.
'If you're milking but the tracks can't get to your farm, then you have to dispose of the milk because it's a perishable product,' he said.
Flooding is also delaying deliveries of Pfizer Canada products, including the company's coronavirus vaccine.
'Weather conditions have resulted in an unfortunate delivery delay of our medicines to BC,' Pfizer said on Twitter. 'We are working to ensure the supply chain has sufficient inventory of critical products for patients.'
Shoppers in Canada's flood-hit province of British Columbia have emptied grocery shelves following catastrophic flooding, although the shortages are as much down to panic buying as disrupted supply chains, industry associations said on Thursday.
Even as flood waters start to recede, some parts of the province are expected to face to temporary shortages of dairy supplies, with retailers and officials calling for calm.
The rainfall washed out roads and railways, cutting off Vancouver and the lower mainland region from the rest of the country, and blocking access to some towns entirely.
Flood water surrounds an amusement park on November 18 in Abbotsford, Canada
The entrance to a blueberry farm is blocked by rising flood waters on November 18 in Abbotsford. Record rainfall this week has resulted in widespread flooding
A police vehicle, bottom right, travels on the Trans-Canada Highway past flooded farmland in Abbotsford, British Columbia, on Wednesday, November 17
Recreational vehicles and trucks burn during a fire at a business surrounded by floodwaters in Abbotsford, British Columbia, on Wednesday, November 17
In this aerial photo, damage caused by heavy rains and mudslides earlier in the week is pictured along the Coquihalla Highway near Hope, British Columbia, Thursday, November 18
Surrounded by floodwaters, a police vehicle travels on the Trans-Canada Highway past flooded farms in Abbotsford, British Columbia, on Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2021. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
British Columbia Premier John Horgan said over the past six months there have been drought conditions in Merritt, where the river was at its lowest point in living memory and where people had to be evacuated because of wildfires in temperatures that were unprecedented. And now, he said, much of the community is under water
Pictures on social media showed empty shelves and refrigerators in grocery stores, reminiscent of the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, as shoppers scrambled to stock up. Photos of one store's produce section showed nothing left but lemons, limes and cranberries.
Save-On-Foods, western Canada's largest grocery retailer, and part of the Jim Pattison Group, appealed to customers to avoid hoarding.
'We understand that this is a very stressful and challenging time for many of our communities,' the company said on Twitter. 'Please - buy only what your family needs at this time.'
Some three-quarters of BC's milk production was stranded for several days, amounting to a few million litres that farmers had to dump, said Schwichtenberg.
Collections are now resuming, but the region will see a temporary milk shortage before it can access supplies from other regions or provinces, he added.
Some of the worst-affected areas are in the Fraser Valley east of Vancouver, where 63 dairy farms were ordered to evacuate. The city of Abbotsford in the Fraser Valley supplies half of the dairy, eggs and poultry consumed in British Columbia, with many farms situated on the fertile soils of the low-lying Sumas Prairie, a former lake that was drained a century ago to make way for agriculture.
The mayor of Abbotsford estimated damage to his city alone could be up to C$1 billion ($793 million).
'We can't stress this enough. Please stay out of evacuated areas. AbbyPD officers just rescued 4 youths who were kayaking in evacuated areas with rising swift water. This greatly hampers emergency response times for people needing it most,' the Abbotsford Police tweeted on Tuesday.
While some towns like Hope, 75 miles east of Vancouver, are facing food shortages because they were cut off by highway washouts and mudslides, others are seeing shelves picked clean by panic buying.
'In parts of the province, particularly the interior, there has been significant and not well-understood consumer panic,' said Greg Wilson, director of BC government relations for the Retail Council of Canada.
Evacuated residents of Merritt, British Columbia, line up at a reception centre in Kelowna, British Columbia, Thursday, November 18
In this aerial image, damage caused by heavy rains and mudslides earlier in the week is pictured along the Coquihalla Highway near Hope, British Columbia, Thursday, November 18
A woman walks a dog along a flooded baseball diamond in Abbotsford, Canada, November 18. Incessant rainfall in the British Columbia brought floods to Abbotsford and the Fraser Valley that resulted in the provincial premier declaring a state of emergency
Logs and debris are seen at the site of a landslide on Highway 7 near Hope, after rainstorms caused flooding and landslides across British Columbia
In this aerial photo, damage caused by heavy rains and mudslides earlier in the week is pictured along the Coquihalla Highway near Hope, British Columbia, Thursday, November 18
'We can't stress this enough. Please stay out of evacuated areas. AbbyPD officers just rescued 4 youths who were kayaking in evacuated areas with rising swift water. This greatly hampers emergency response times for people needing it most,' the Abbotsford Police tweeted on Tuesday
'If you're milking but the tracks can't get to your farm, then you have to dispose of the milk because it's a perishable product,' Holger Schwichtenberg, chair of the British Columbia Dairy Association, said
'There are highways open between BC and Alberta and there is capacity in Alberta to supply the interior of BC.'
Wilson said Vancouver and the lower mainland can access more food supplies from Washington state to the south, and the rerouting of supply chains was already underway.
British Columbia Premier John Horgan called it a once in a 500 years event. He said the state of emergency will include travel restrictions so the transport of essential goods medical and emergency services will reach the communities that need them. He asked people not to hoard goods.
'These are very challenging times. I've been at this dais for two years now talking about challenging times we have faced - unprecedented challenges with public health, wildfires, heat domes and now debilitating floods that we have never seen before,' Horgan said.
Horgan said over the past six months there have been drought conditions in Merritt, where the river was at its lowest point in living memory and where people had to be evacuated because of wildfires in temperatures that were unprecedented. And now, he said, much of the community is underwater.
'We need to start preparing for a future that includes more events like this,' Horgan said.
The weather events are all connected and can be attributed to climate change, said John Clague, a professor in the Earth Sciences Department at Simon Fraser University.
'Scientists are now saying these particular events, they´re becoming more frequent, exacerbated or ramped up by climate change,' he said.
The record temperatures in the summer set the stage for the wildfires, said Clague. The fires burned the ground in a way that prevents water from seeping into the soil. He said that resulted in the water from the torrential rains pouring more quickly into streams and rivers, causing floods.
The total number of people and vehicles unaccounted for had not yet been confirmed near the town of Lillooet. Investigators had received reports of two other people who were missing but added that other motorists might have been buried in a slide on Highway 99.
Chelsey Hughes said she was thankful to have survived the slide that slammed into her car before it landed in a swamp as she was driving along the highway. Hughes was heading home Sunday when she saw a tree starting to fall as a slide shoved her car about a mile off the road and down an embankment.
Even as flood waters start to recede, some parts of the province are expected to face to temporary shortages of dairy supplies, with retailers and officials calling for calm
The record temperatures in the summer set the stage for the wildfires. The fires burned the ground in a way that prevents water from seeping into the soil, which resulted in the water from the torrential rains pouring more quickly into streams and rivers, causing floods
'I can also tell you that many farmers attempted to move animals and then had to walk away because the roads were disappearing beneath them,' Agriculture Minister Lana Popham said
'Scientists are now saying these particular events, they´re becoming more frequent, exacerbated or ramped up by climate change,' John Clague, a professor in the Earth Sciences Department at Simon Fraser University said
Floodwaters cover Highway 1 in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Tuesday, November 16
A trade expert said the loss of major transportation routes will hurt the movement of goods both in and out Canada's largest port in Vancouver
'Vancouver really has an outsized role to play in our Pacific trade,' said Werner Antweiler, an associate professor at the UBC Sauder School of Business. 'Commodities will be impacted in a much more significant way because it's coming by rail or coming by big trucks'
'Then the car stopped moving and I was just shocked. I was afraid to move because I didn´t know if I was injured,' she said after spending about five hours shivering on top of her car without a jacket next to another vehicle with four university students sharing one jacket atop their vehicle.
When Hughes finally connected with a 911 dispatcher, he helped her monitor one students' condition after he had an asthma attack before they finally saw the lights of rescuers.
They spent an hour hiking out, she said of the traumatic events that unfolded Sunday night before nine of them were taken to hospital. She said she has been thinking about the family of a woman who died.
'I think that could have been any one of us, and there's nothing that you can do. When we got hit by that landslide, we just had to surrender,' she said.
Agriculture Minister Lana Popham said thousands of animals had died and the province was rushing to get veterinarians to other animals that are in danger.
'I can also tell you that many farmers attempted to move animals and then had to walk away because the roads were disappearing beneath them,' she said.
A trade expert said the loss of major transportation routes will hurt the movement of goods both in and out Canada's largest port in Vancouver.
'Vancouver really has an outsized role to play in our Pacific trade,' said Werner Antweiler, an associate professor at the UBC Sauder School of Business. 'Commodities will be impacted in a much more significant way because it's coming by rail or coming by big trucks.'
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