Category: British Columbia

British Columbia Braces for Third ‘Atmospheric River’ After Recent Floods

VANCOUVER—British Columbia is bracing for more rain after mudslides and flooding caused devastation in parts of the province. Environment Canada says up to 200 millimetres of rain could drench the central coast of B.C. and parts of Vancouver Island through Wednesday, possibly causing water to pool on roads and flooding in low-lying areas. Up to…


Evacuation Alerts, Highway Closures as More Rain Hammers Southern BC

VICTORIA—Southern British Columbians braced for another severe storm Saturday, with a new set of evacuation alerts issued and officials in an already devastated agricultural community warning of another possible river overflow. Abbotsford Mayor Henry Braun told a news conference Saturday that the city has done everything it can with provincial and federal support to prepare,…


‘It’s My Life’s Work’: BC Fruit and Vegetable Growers Face Uncertainty After Floods

While their homes and farm fields remain inundated by water, Curtis Sandhu says his family is looking towards rebuilding after a dike failed and devastating flooding hit the prime agricultural area east of Vancouver nearly two weeks ago. The flooding in the Sumas Prairie came little more than four months after a heat wave in…


BC Grants Cullen Commission Six More Months to File Money Laundering Report

VANCOUVER—An inquiry commission has received a six-month extension to file its final report into money laundering in British Columbia. A statement from the Commission of Inquiry into Money Laundering in B.C. says the provincial government has approved a deadline extension to May 20 from Dec. 15. It says inquiry commissioner Austin Cullen asked for more…


Line of Storms Approaches as BC Works to Recover From Recent Floods

VANCOUVER—A line of storms is forecast to sweep across British Columbia as the province works to rebuild from devastating flooding and deadly mudslides last week that destroyed parts of major highways, rail lines, and farmland. Wind and rainfall warnings blanketed most of the B.C. coast and come after about a dozen so-called atmospheric rivers have…


Ottawa Clarifies COVID 19 Travel Exemption on BC US Border During Floods

OTTAWA—The federal minister of emergency preparedness says border guards have been advised that British Columbia residents can cross into the United States for essential supplies because of flooding in the province after some were reportedly facing fines or told they would have to quarantine on returning to Canada. Bill Blair said the circumstances of those…


BC Mudslide Victim Identified as Rugby Player Originally From Calgary

CALGARY—Last Monday, as flooding and mudslides ravaged British Columbia, Dean Hopkins got a distraught call from his close friend’s wife, saying her husband was missing. That phone call kicked off several stress−filled days for Hopkins, which ended in tragedy when his old rugby buddy Steven Taylor was confirmed dead. Taylor moved to B.C. from Calgary…


Feds Waiving Normal EI Rules for British Columbians Left Jobless by Extreme Flooding

The federal government promised to expedite employment insurance applications and ease travel restrictions at British Columbia’s borders on Sunday, among a host of measures meant to help residents of the flood-ravaged province recover from recent storms and weather new ones expected in the days ahead. The show of support from Ottawa came as Environment Canada…


Flood-Hit Canada Province Braces for Heavy Rain, 3 Bodies Found

ABBOTSFORD, British Columbia—Searchers located three bodies swept away by landslides in British Columbia, officials said on Saturday, after record rainfall that paralyzed parts of the province, leading to food and fuel shortages. Canada’s westernmost province declared a state of emergency after a phenomenon known as an “atmospheric river” brought a month’s worth of rain in…


Flooding in B.C. ‘Testing the Resilience’ of Dairy Farmers, Says Association

Farmers in southern British Columbia are coming together to save livestock as parts of the Fraser Valley remain under water from devastating flooding, says a member of the association that represents the province’s dairy farmers. Holger Schwichtenberg, chair of the board for the BC Dairy Association, said he was not yet sure how many farmers…