The Canadian army will be deployed as reinforcements to help evacuate thousands of people still isolated in British Columbia after the monster and deadly floods that cripple the coastal province.
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“We have no way out of Chilliwack and there is nothing to fit”, testifies the Quebecer Brigitte Prud’homme, who has lived for 2 years in the city of 85,000 inhabitants located 100 km east of Vancouver.
“There is no more gas. People have taken all the food from the supermarkets: there is no more fruit, no more vegetables, almost no more meat. The line to get to the cash register was two hours, ”she continues.
The British Columbia government asked for help from Ottawa late Tuesday evening to overcome the chaos caused by the heavy rains of the past few days.
Photo REUTERS
Abbotsford’s roads were completely submerged, crippling many vehicles.
Floods and landslides have isolated thousands of people, blocked highways, railways, halting freight transport and even the flow of pipelines in the greater Vancouver area.
Reuters Photo
Before being officially called in for reinforcement, the army rescued motorists stranded on a road on Monday due to a mudslide in Agassiz, British Columbia.
Experts fear the consequences of these disruptions to supply chains across the country, including Quebec, as the holiday season approaches.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, traveling to Washington, promised that the federal government “would be there for the cleanup and reconstruction” after these “extreme weather events”.
250 mm of rain
The Fraser River Valley east of Vancouver recorded up to 250mm of precipitation in two days last weekend.
Given the state of the roads and the difficulties in supplying the communities affected by the floods, the government declared a state of emergency yesterday, which will make it possible to mobilize even more resources on the ground.
Photo REUTERS
Abbotsford’s roads were completely submerged, crippling many vehicles.
Travel restrictions will also be imposed, Premier John Horgan said.
“Please don’t oversupply. What you need, your neighbors need too, ”said Horgan.
Photo REUTERS
Boats had to be used to rescue a herd of cows in Abbotsford on Tuesday.
The Prime Minister expects more deaths to be listed in the coming days. A mudslide has claimed at least one casualty so far.
In total, some 17,775 people had to be evacuated due to the flooding, while nearly 6,000 homes are under evacuation orders and more than 3,600 others are under evacuation alert.
– With the collaboration of Camille Payant and Raphaël Pirro, Agence QMI