Flooding in BC leads to Serious Provincial Consequences

Madi Babensee (G8)

Published Issue 3 2021-2022

National News

In the past week, floods have taken over the area of Greater Vancouver. Due to a ‘perfect’ timing of rain, snowmelt, and the time of droughts this summer, colossal floods have covered parts of Abbotsford. Says Arman Castellan, a Canadian meteorologist, “It’s like a lifetime event and then some.” There have been several catastrophic events, many of them possibly affecting the Greater Vancouver area for the next several months or more.

One of the unpredictable consequences of the flooding was the destruction of one area of the Coquihalla highway, between Hope and Merrit. Due to a massive mudslide, a section of the Coquihalla highway (BC highway 5) was severely damaged. Officials have said that any repairs, even temporary ones, could take several months at least. With no estimated time of opening, and no possible detours, there is presently no on-land manner in which one can move further south towards Hope from Merritt.

Yet another terrible effect of the flooding in the area is the catastrophic deaths of many animals on local farms. Farmers in BC have lost thousands of animals in the past few weeks, and an unknown number of pigs, cattle, and fowl have been lost. Mr. Casey Gurliker, a hog farmer from southern British Columbia, said, “Not all our efforts paid off, but we can rest with a clear conscience that we did the best for the animals.” Many animals are being removed from the farms presently, but authorities are unsure of how many bodies they may have to remove, and how long that process may take.

As solutions for the flooding are still being discussed, people have no real idea of what we can do at this time. The BC government recommends that we all drive as little as possible, utilise public transport and school buses, and to limit the amount of gas you get at service stations to 30 liters. Said Mr. Mike Farnworth, the public safety minister in British Columbia, “We’re going to be hitting old man winter and -20 C temperatures here pretty quick.” This means that solutions will be even harder to implement.

In conclusion, these catastrophic events are still damaging BC, even nearly a month after their occurrence. In order to keep these situations from worsening, all citizens of BC should continue to remain calm, and listen to all provincial guidelines.

Stay safe Mulgravians, and have a happy winter break!