Canada confirms casualties from floods and landslides after Pacific Northwest storm | Canada

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British Columbia search and rescue officials have confirmed several deaths after a deadly storm hit the Pacific Northwest, destroying highways and leaving tens of thousands of people in Canada and the United States without power.

Flood waters cut off Canada’s largest port, as emergency crews in British Columbia announced on Tuesday that at least 10 cars had smashed into a highway during a landslide.

“We’re hoping to find people alive. But that obviously dwindles with time, the nature of the chip’s activity. People who get trapped in mud and debris certainly dwindle over time,” David Mackenzie, director of search and rescue for the Pemberton area, told the Globe and Mail. .

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police confirmed that the body of a woman was recovered from the landslide site during a search operation the night before.

Highway 1 heading west towards Abbotsford is almost completely underwater on November 16. Photo: The Canadian Press / REX / Shutterstock

“The total number of unaccounted people and vehicles has not been confirmed, but investigators have received two reports of missing persons and believe there may have been other occupied vehicles lost in the skid,” said Sgt Janelle Shuyer of the RCMP.

Search crews, working alongside the military, planned to use heavy equipment and canine units to continue the search for survivors after bad weather hampered efforts on Monday. On Monday, rescue helicopters transported 275 people, including 50 children, from a highway closed by landslides.

Although high winds and rain from an atmospheric river – a huge plume of moisture stretching over the Pacific Ocean – began to recede in the region, most of British Columbia remained under flood watch or a flood warning.

South of the border, tens of thousands of homes and businesses remain without power in Washington state. Nearly 50,000 electricity customers in Washington state remained without power on Tuesday, officials said, after days of heavy rains that triggered mudslides and floods and forced the closure of the main north-south highway on the west coast near the Canadian border.

In north Bellingham, authorities said one person was still missing on Tuesday after he was seen clinging to a tree in floodwaters.

Washington Governor Jay Inslee declared a severe weather emergency in 14 counties and said the state’s Department of Emergency Management, with support from the Washington National Guard, would coordinate the response.

Earlier in the day, the Port of Vancouver, Canada’s largest, announced that all rail access routes have been cut off due to flooding and landslides to the east, a development that could affect shipments of grain, coal and potash. The TransMountain pipeline, which transports 300,000 barrels of oil per day, has also been shut down.

A volunteer uses a boat to rescue people, including a child, stranded in Abbotsford, British Columbia. Photo: Daryl Dick/AFP

With all surrounding highways closed due to damage, including a portion of the Coquihalla Highway that officials have warned could take months to repair, the city of Vancouver is virtually cut off from the rest of Canada by road.

Aerial footage of Fraser Valley, southeast of Vancouver, showed swaths of land, including highways, under water.

“This is an uncertain and frightening time for the people affected. Abbotsford Mayor Henry Brown told reporters on Tuesday after evacuation orders were issued in parts of the city.

As the extent of the damage became clearer, regional officials faced questions about whether they had adequately prepared residents for heavy rains, which broke many records. Many of the alerts issued to drivers are very localized, which means that travelers between two cities may not be aware of regional hazards such as flooding.

British Columbia’s public safety minister, Mike Farnworth, defended his government’s handling of the situation, telling reporters the province had warned residents that driving conditions would be dangerous.

“These warnings and travel advisories are off. You know there have been a lot of warnings that you know there is heavy rain coming and you know what keeps most people at home,” he said. “Most people have stayed at home and the communities are really prepared for that.

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