On Saturday, officials in British Columbia said they had located three bodies swept away by landslides, after the province was paralyzed by record rainfall, causing food shortages and fuel shortages.
After two days of torrential rain, Canada’s westernmost province declared an emergency due to weather phenomena referred to as “atmospheric rivers”. Heavy rainfall has severely damaged roads and railways, in turn cutting off Vancouver and the lower mainland region from the rest of the country.
Environment Canada predicts that another similar weather system will hit northern British Columbia on Sunday and bring heavy rains to the lower mainland.
On Friday, the province temporarily restricted fuel and non-essential travel to ease supply chain disruptions and aid recovery efforts.
Besides the body found on Monday, another three bodies have been found, and efforts to reach a fifth victim have been unsuccessful, the province’s chief coroner said on Saturday.
Lisa Lapointe mentioned in a statement, “This has been an incredibly difficult year for all of us in British Columbia, and my heart goes out to all of the families and communities that have suffered tragic losses.”
Earlier this week, storms cut two critical railroad lines supplying fuel and goods to Vancouver’s busiest port, forcing it to close its Trans Mountain pipeline and cut off two vital east-west rail lines.
As a result of the damage to the infrastructure, Canadian Pacific, which operates one of the lines, has promised to work non-stop until mid-next week to restore service.
Pacific province still has approximately 14,000 people under evacuation orders.
Source: The Guardian
