British Columbia imposed temporary regulations on fuel and non-essential travel on Friday to ease delivery chain disruptions and guide restoration work after floods and mudslides destroyed roads, houses and left thousands stranded in the western Canadian province.
Deputy Premier Mike Farnworth announced in a briefing order limiting people in a few areas, along with Vancouver Island, to 30 litres, that is 7.9 gallons of fuel in line with one visit to a gas station till Dec. 1. Non-essential journeys along critically affected highways will also be prohibited.
“These orders will help keep commercial traffic moving, stabilize our supply chains and make sure everyone gets home safely,” Farnworth stated.
The aftermath of the storms that began on Sunday includes the closure of the Trans Mountain pipeline and cutting two vital east-west rail lines, hampering the supply of fuel and goods. Farnworth mentioned the other ways the province is working out with the federal authorities to import fuel through truck and barge from the US or neighbouring Alberta.
Apart from such restrictions, the flood-battered province received a few good news in which CP stated work to restore damaged infrastructure will continue without stopping as a result of which services should be fixed by the mid of next week.
“Barring any unforeseen issues, we currently estimate service will be restored mid-week,” spokesperson Salem Woodrow said in an email.
The disaster appears to be the most costly natural disaster ever to hit Canada. Water pumps are nevertheless running flat out in the city of Abbotsford to the east of Vancouver, the failure of which will require all 160,000 citizens to leave the place.
Source: Reuters
