(Vancouver) The City of Abbotsford, east of Vancouver, is racing against time to erect a new dike as the flood waters increase and the weather forecast is bleak.
Henry Braun, mayor of Abbotsford, said on Friday that military personnel are expected to join contractors to help build the temporary 2.5-kilometer dike. This is to prevent water from escaping the bed of the Sumas River, after existing dikes broke following unprecedented rainfall in southwestern British Columbia earlier this week.
Mr Braun said plans for the construction of the dike were due to start on Friday in an effort to avert further disasters in the Sumas Prairie agricultural area, which has seen the highest levels of flooding this week.
Mayor Braun spoke of a grim weather forecast of 100mm of rain the day before next week. “Until this hole is filled in the breach and the dike is rebuilt, water continues to flow into the meadow,” he said.
The City will need access to between six and 12 houses in order to build the dike, he said, adding that the process to contact the owners has only just begun. “A house is too much, and if it was my house, I would also be worried. But there aren’t a lot of options here. ”
From Washington Thursday night, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said 120 military personnel were being sent to support relief efforts in Abbotsford. A military reconnaissance group had also been dispatched to the provincial emergency operations center in Surrey, and more than 200 soldiers in Edmonton were ready to leave.
Federal Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said on Friday that interim measures were in place with the United States to move commercial goods to British Columbia, since flooding cut off access to several roads from Province.
The Minister clarified that these interim measures are primarily intended for Canadian national motor carriers who do not normally cross the border in the course of their activities.
State of emergency measures
The BC government was due to provide more information on Friday on the state of emergency declared on Wednesday, after an “atmospheric river” hit parts of the province, bringing more rain in 48 hours than normal throughout the month of November.
Provincial Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said the measures could include an order banning all travel except for essential travelers and commercial vehicles, as limited access is slowly being restored on some roads.
An estimated 17,000 people were out of their homes on Friday, with evacuation orders covering some 6,900 properties. The provincial government has also announced that financial assistance will be available for disaster victims affected by floods and landslides.
Search efforts continued following a landslide along Highway 99, south of Lillooet, where a woman’s body was found this week. According to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, four people have been reported missing in this region.
In Merritt, City officials said Friday the Coldwater River level was dropping, after the waterway overflowed on Monday and submerged the town’s sewage treatment plant, forcing the evacuation of all of the water. community.
But as the waters recede, the city’s director of business services says it’s clear the river has carved out a new bed in the middle of what was once Pine Street on the northwest side of the municipality. Greg Lowis indicates that a new island has also formed between the new course of the river and its old bed.
Mr. Lowis is aware that it will take “great amounts of energy and effort” to divert a waterway from its new bed – and he wasn’t sure what the City will do now.
In addition, a dozen recognized organizations, such as the Canadian Red Cross, the Salvation Army, the SPCA and Centraide, raise funds or offer assistance to flood victims in British Columbia.