At least one person has been killed in two days of torrential rains in British Columbia, Canada, which have caused landslides and floods that have forced thousands to flee their homes, local authorities said today.
“The body of a woman was found in a landslide that occurred on Highway 99 near Liluet on Monday morning, with the search continuing today,” said the federal police of Canada.
“The total number of missing people and vehicles has not been confirmed,” the authorities said.
On Monday, about 7,000 residents of Merritt, 300 miles northeast of Vancouver, were forced to flee their homes.
“We expect the evacuation order to remain in force for more than a week,” local authorities said on Tuesday.
“Floods continue to be a significant risk and cause damage,” they said.
At the same time, due to the floods, all train services “to and from the port of Vancouver” have been stopped, said the representative of the port authorities, Mati Polichronis.
According to images broadcast by the Canadian media, the rain has stopped but many roads remain closed and cities are still flooded, as up to 250 mm of rain fell in the Fraser Valley on Monday.
“In Hope (a town about 100 miles east of Vancouver) 174 millimeters of rain fell in 24 hours on Sunday and 250 millimeters in 48 hours, something that has not been recorded again by the local meteorological station,” he said. Armel Castellan meteorologist at the National Environment Agency of Canada.
According to him, in some areas almost 95% of the monthly rainfall was recorded within 24 hours.
“Unprecedented”
“I have no doubt that these phenomena are linked to climate change, they are unprecedented in nature,” said Mike Farnworth, British Columbia’s Minister of Public Order, a few months after major wildfires hit the county.
Residents of many cities were forced to flee their homes, including 1,100 residents of Abbotsford, a few dozen miles from Vancouver.
At the same time, about 9,000 people remain without electricity, according to BC Hydro.
“We are very concerned about the situation in British Columbia,” said Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trinto.
“We will be there with all the resources that British Columbia may need,” he added.
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Source From: Capital
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