National Post (National Edition)
B.C.'S SURPRISE FLOODING
ARMY CALLED IN
Canadian Army engineers and contractors started building a two-kilometre levee at first light Friday to deal with a broken Abbotsford dike that is allowing water to pour into the already flooded Sumas Prairie.
Abbotsford Mayor Henry Braun said this would lead to the flooding of around a dozen homes and businesses caught between the failed section of dike on the southern edge of the Sumas Lake Canal and Highway 1 (which would be used as part of the levee system), but the city had no other options.
“This has to be done,” Braun said. “Until it's done, water continues to pour into the Sumas Prairie.”
RIVERS IN THE SKY
The rain that swamped B.C. earlier this week was the result of an atmospheric river, or what's known as “rivers in the sky.” They are relatively common, with about 11 present on Earth at any time, according to NASA.
They are columns in the atmosphere that carry water vapour over oceans from the tropics to more temperate regions in amounts more than double the flow of the Amazon River.
But warming air and seas around the globe causes conditions that scientists predict will make them hold more moisture, causing extreme precipitation when they make landfall, often on the west coasts of North America, South America and Western Europe.
Atmospheric rivers will become about 10 per cent less frequent by the end of this century, but about 25 per cent longer and wider, a study found. That will lead to nearly double the frequency of the most intense atmospheric river storms.
NOTHING
LIKE IT
Premier John Horgan and deputy premier Mike Farnworth said the high winds and torrential rains that caused catastrophic flooding, 17,000 people displaced and at least one death were unprecedented.
“Even the experts were just completely surprised by it,” said Horgan. “I think all British Columbians fully understand that now we have to better prepare for events like this. But we couldn't have even imagined it six months ago.”
But scientists have been warning for more than 30 years that climate change poses a threat to B.C. — rising sea levels and more droughts, flooding and landslides.
There have been numerous reports and studies in the past decades warning of the effects of climate change, including a 2018 B.C. auditor general report that concluded the province was not adequately managing the risks of flooding and wildfires.
The report highlighted that increased fall and winter precipitation — in the form of high-intensity, short-duration rainfall events, also called atmospheric rivers — is expected to increase flooding in coast mountain rivers and streams and may result in more frequent landslides that generate debris flows and floods.
SAVING THE COWS
Karl Meier has 240 milking cows at his main farm in Abbotsford and about another 200 at a heifer facility down the road.
He says the cows spent two days in the water. “If they were human, they'd be dead.”
Throughout Wednesday and Thursday, about 50 people, including some strangers, came to his farm to help with clearing flooded barns, rebuilding stalls and fixing electrical.
But he desperately needs clean drinking water.
His farm is in the Sumas Prairie region of Abbotsford, about 100 kilometres east of Vancouver, which is under an evacuation order.
Police-enforced roadblocks have been set up to prevent people from coming or going.
“We got roads that are blocked and floods everywhere. Those are the things we can't stop, but we could help stop more animals from dying,” said a frustrated Meier.
Abbotsford Mayor Henry Braun said he understands why about 40 people are refusing to leave, but it's not safe for them to stay. “These farms are second-, third-, maybe even fourth-generation farmers. They love their cattle. They love their land. They don't want to move. I get that. They want to look after their investments,” he said.
NEW RIVER
CHANNEL
Officials in Merritt say levels of the Coldwater River are falling after the waterway burst its banks on Monday and overwhelmed the city's wastewater treatment plant, forcing the evacuation of the entire community.
But as the waters recede, Merritt's corporate services director says it's clear the river has carved a new channel down the middle of what used to be Pine Street on the city's northwest side.
Greg Lowis says a new island has also been formed between the river's new course and the former riverbed.
Lowis says he understands it takes “vast amounts of energy and effort” to reroute a waterway from its chosen path, and he's not sure what the city will do.
SHIPPING
IN MEALS
In Surrey, volunteers at the Gurdwara Dukh Nivaran Sahib cooked more than 3,000 meals to serve to travellers who were stranded in Hope because of the double mudslides that came down on Highway 7. The meals were shipped by a helicopter, according to a Facebook post by volunteer Amarjit Singh Dhadwar.
Khalsa Aid Canada has also been busy the past few days with teams of volunteers in Kelowna, Kamloops and in Metro Vancouver cooking meals for stranded truckers in Princeton and sending supplies to Hope and Spences Bridge.
Baljit Lally, the Lower Mainland coordinator for Khalsa Aid, said when they heard the food was running out for 200 truckers stranded near the Hope airport, they reached out to the Khalsa Darbar temple in Vancouver, which mobilized volunteers from the community to come in and cook hundreds of meals, mainly rice and lentils, rotis and vegetable dishes.
They also called London Air Services and the company provided a flight to move all the food at no charge.
Many of the drivers are South Asian and were grateful to receive a home-cooked meal and a much-needed cup of tea, she said.
“Tea is very important in our culture. It brings people together,” said Lally.
Receding flood waters were helping rescue efforts this week, but up to 100 mm of rain is expected next week. “We are not out of this by a long shot yet,” said Abbotsford Mayor Henry Braun.