Vancouver storm: A state of emergency has been declared in British Columbia

[Pedestrian]

A state of emergency has been declared in the Canadian western province of British Columbia after a major storm cut road and rail links in the region.

The Canadian Armed Forces have been deployed to help thousands of stranded residents who have been trapped since the storm hit overnight on Sunday.
Local officials warned on Thursday that the price tag to rebuild could exceed C$1bn ($790m, £590m).

One woman was killed in a landslide, and two people are missing. Officials expect more fatalities to be confirmed in the coming days.

One man caught up in the storm told the BBC the scenes afterwards were like "Armageddon".

Thousands of farm animals have died and many more remain trapped by the flood waters after the storm passed through one of Canada's most agriculturally intensive areas.

Some 18,000 people are yet to return to their homes after an "atmospheric river" - a long strip of moisture in the air that transports water from tropical areas towards the poles - dumped the region's monthly rainfall average in 24 hours.

As of Thursday, nearly 7,000 properties remained under mandatory evacuation orders, with more than 2,500 others under evacuation advisory.

British Columbia Premier John Horgan announced the two-week emergency order on Wednesday, in order to keep people off flooded roads and expedite rescues.

Helicopters on Wednesday dropped food supplies to stranded mountain communities after slides destroyed roads and floods submerged major highways.

Approximately 1,500 travellers became stranded in the town of Hope after roads closed, Grace Baptist Church Pastor Jeff Kuhn told BBC News in an email on Wednesday. Officials said about 1,000 people were able to leave the town on Thursday.

Some highways have reopened, including Highway 7, connecting Hope to Vancouver.

Store shelves have also seen their inventories running low, and officials have advised residents to conserve fuel . . . .

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-59324764

[SIGSEGV]

Now there are two Vancouver Islands

[KDD]

Thanks Jim Benning

[davee930]

Originally Posted by SIGSEGV

Now there are two Vancouver Islands

I never thought BC would separate before Quebec

[dktshb]

I wish that atmospheric river would point at California again from Eureka to San Diego.

[SFBruin]

Did Vancouver get a storm that Seattle didn't?

I don't remember it storming here.

[vanman]

Vancouver had very intense rainfall and some localized flooding but nothing compared to the Fraser Valley farming communities where dikes were breached and highways were submeged. In the interior of the province large sections of highways were wiped off the map by landslides and creeks turned into raging rivers and some have now changed their course entirely. Here's a really thorough timeline of events from the CBC if you're interested.

https://newsinteractives.cbc.ca/long...oding-unfolded

[InlandEmpire]

As a rep for Seattle - we are super concerned for Vancouver and BC - I hope the Province is safe! We've been watching and hope all the best.