Canada:State of emergency in British Columbia,death toll rising

In Canada, the death toll from massive floods and landslides that devastated parts of British Columbia is set to rise, The Canadian province declared a state of emergency on Wednesday. Every major route between the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, where Canada's third largest city of Vancouver is, and the interior of the province has been cut by washouts, flooding or landslides following record-breaking rain across southern British Columbia between Saturday and Monday. The body of a woman was recovered from one of the mudslides late Monday.

Torrential rains have led to terrible flooding that has disrupted the lives and taken lives of people across B.C. I want people to know that the federal government has been engaging with the local authorities, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in Washington. “We're sending resources like the Canadian Armed Forces to support people but also we'll be there for the cleanup and the rebuilding after impacts of these extreme weather events.” Military helicopters already helped evacuate about 300 people from one highway where people were trapped in their cars on Sunday night following a mudslide, “We expect to confirm even more fatalities in the coming days,” British Columbia Premier John Horgan said. Horgan called it a once in a 500 year event. He said the state of emergency will include travel restrictions so the transport of essential goods medical and emergency services will reach the communities that need them. He asked people not to hoard goods. Horgan said over the past six months there have been drought conditions in Merritt, where the river was at its lowest point in living memory and where people had to be evacuated because of wildfires in temperatures that were unprecedented. And now, he said, much of the community is under water.