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Gallery|Floods

Floods, mudslides bring chaos to Canada’s British Columbia

Floods left at least one dead and four missing, forced thousands of people to flee their homes, and cut off Vancouver.

A restrooms building in Hougen Park is seen submerged after rainstorms lashed the western Canadian province of British Columbia, triggering landslides and floods, shutting highways, in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada November 15, 2021. REUTERS/Jennifer Gauthier
A building in Hougen Park is seen submerged after rainstorms lashed the western Canadian province of British Columbia. [Jennifer Gauthier/Reuters]
Published On 18 Nov 202118 Nov 2021
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The Canadian Pacific coast province of British Columbia declared a state of emergency following floods and mudslides caused by extreme rainfall as officials said they expected to find more dead.

Every main 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.

Authorities confirmed one death and said at least four people are missing. An estimated 18,000 people are displaced in the province, Canadian Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said.

Aerial footage showed the extent of the damage caused by the mudslides.

“I can confirm that there are hundreds of Canadian Armed Forces members currently headed to British Colombia to help with everything from supplies to evacuation to whatever is needed. There are thousands more on standby,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, speaking from Washington, DC.

The federal government said it was sending the air force to assist with evacuations and to support supply lines.

Military helicopters already helped evacuate about 300 people from one highway where people were trapped in their cars following a mudslide.

A view of flooding in the Sumas Prairie area of Abbotsford British Columbia, Canada, on November 17, 2021. (Photo by Don MacKinnon / AFP)
An aerial view of flooding in the Sumas Prairie area of Abbotsford, British Columbia. [Don MacKinnon/AFP]
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A car is submerged in flood waters on a farm after rainstorms caused flooding and landslides in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada November 16, 2021. REUTERS/Jesse Winter
A car is submerged in floodwaters on a farm in Abbotsford. [Jesse Winter/Reuters]
Cows that were stranded in a flooded barn are rescued after rainstorms lashed the western Canadian province of British Columbia, triggering landslides and floods, shutting highways, in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada November 16, 2021. REUTERS/Jennifer Gauthier
Cows stranded in a flooded barn are rescued in Abbotsford, about 50km (20 miles) outside of Vancouver. [Jennifer Gauthier/Reuters]
Residents clear thick mud outside a house a day after severe rain flooded the southern interior town of Princeton, British Columbia, Canada November 16, 2021. REUTERS/Artur Gajda
Residents clear thick mud outside a house after severe rain flooded the southern interior town of Princeton, BC. [Artur Gajda/Reuters]
Crew members from Royal Canadian Air Force 442 Squadron lead some of over 300 motorists stranded by mudslides towards a CH-149 Cormorant helicopter for their evacuation, in Agassiz, British Columbia, Canada November 15, 2021. Picture taken November 15, 2021. RCAF/Handout via REUTERS MANDATORY CREDIT. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY.
Crew members from Royal Canadian Air Force 442 Squadron lead some of the 300 motorists stranded by mudslides towards a helicopter for their evacuation, in Agassiz. [Handout via Reuters]
epa09587737 A handout photo made available by the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure showing flooding on BC Highway 7 caused by days of rain near Ruby Creek, British Columbia, Canada, 15 November 2021 (issued 17 November 2021). One person in reported dead and flooding has caused damage to roads and bridges in western Canada near Vancouver. EPA-EFE/MINISTRY OF TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE / HANDOUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES
Flooding on BC Highway 7 caused by days of rain near Ruby Creek, British Columbia. [Handout via EPA]
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This aerial handout image taken and released on November 16, 2021 by the City of Abbotsford via Twitter shows flooding on the Sumas Prairie in Abbotsford, Canada. - At least one person has died in torrential rains that forced thousands in western Canada to evacuate their homes and trapped motorists in mudslides, federal police said on November 16, 2021. (Photo by Handout / CITY OF ABBOTSFORD / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / CITY OF ABBOTSFORD " - NO MARKETING - NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS
Aerial view of the flooding on the Sumas Prairie in Abbotsford. [Handout via AFP]


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