Canada’s Trudeau deploys air force to help flooding effort– as it happened

This blog reporting on the ongoing flood emergency in British Columbia is closing down now. You can read our latest report here. Thank you for reading.

A late night evacuation train carrying about 200 people stranded for days by British Columbia’s mudslides and floods has left Hope for Vancouver, CBC news reports.

Jonathan Abecassis, a spokesperson for Canadian National, said the emergency evacuation train was expected to arrive in Vancouver at about 10:30pm PT Wednesday.

Most of the people on board the train had been in Hope, located about 150km east of Vancouver, since Sunday.

Abecassis says the evacuation train is the result of efforts between Emergency Management BC, Via Rail and CN.

British Columbia premier John Horgan has credited the climate crisis with increasingly the likelihood of intense storms such as the one that struck his province.

Horgan referenced an earlier comment from Environment Canada, the government body that described the floods as a “one in 100 year event”.

“While Environment Canada called this a 1-in-100 year event, we know the increased likelihood of intense storms is due to the climate crisis,” he said.

“We need to keep doing more to mitigate its impacts and build the cleaner future people and our planet need.

Canadian Armed Forces members are on the ground in British Columbia to assist with the floods relief effort.

Additional members of the Royal Canadian Airforce are also reportedly en route from Edmonton, the force said.

“Canadian Armed Forces members are on the ground in British Columbia helping out and we are sending more members to assist the communities that are most impacted, and support repair and mitigation efforts,” Anita Anand, Canada’s Minister of National Defence, said.

“We will be there for British Columbians to keep them safe and to recover from this tragedy.”

The Royal Canadian Airforce said 408 tactical helicopter squadrons were on their way to “deploy reconnaissance and coordination elements” to BC.

The Government of Canada has approved a request for federal assistance from the province of British Columbia to help with their response to extreme flooding in the region.

Bill Blair, Canada’s minister of emergency preparedness, confirmed the news earlier on Wednesday.

“In response to extreme flooding across Southern BC, we have approved the deployment of Canadian Forces air support personnel to assist with evacuation efforts, support supply chain routes, and protect residents against floods and landslides,” Blair said in a statement.

The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) is expected to provide both air assets and a land component to assist with the relief effort, according to a press release issued by Public Safety Canada.

Air support will assist evacuations, provide assistance to those who are vulnerable and stranded and also provide logistical support for provincial supply chains. The CAF will also assist with the protection of critical infrastructure, access roads, and properties.

An Immediate Response Unit reconnaissance team is expected to be deployed today.

Castle Fun Park’s mini golf attraction was pictured by CBC news photojournalist Ben Nelms as submerged in floodwaters in Abbotsford, BC, on Wednesday.

It’s just another one of the more dramatic pictures to emerge in the aftermath of torrential rains.

Flood warnings in the affected areas of Fraser Valley and Fraser Canyon has been downgraded, according to the British Columbia River Forecast Centre.

The current Flood Watch warning for the Fraser Valley and Fraser Canyon, including tributaries near the district of Hope in BC, has been downgraded to a High Streamflow Advisory, the agency said in an update on Wednesday evening.

A High Streamflow Advisory indicates that river levels are rising or expected to rise rapidly, but that no major flooding is expected. Minor flooding in low-lying areas is possible.

British Columbia premier John Horgan has urged residents to refrain from hoarding during the crisis.

“Respect the fact you do not need 48 eggs,” Horgan said during a Wednesday press conference, adding “a dozen will do”.

“Remember that your neighbour in line behind you needs the same supplies you do.

“We’re confident we can restore our supply chains in a quick and orderly manner, and the state of emergency will now help us do that.”

The city of Chilliwack in Abbotsford has downgraded its evacuation order for Yarrow and Majuba Hill to an evacuation alert.

The city in a statement on Wednesday evening that the evacuation order was rescinded after the water in the Nooksack River dropped considerably, which will diminish flow into Abbotsford.

The Fraser River also continues to drop and officials estimate that by tomorrow they should be able to open the flood gates, which will further reduce water levels. The pumps are also working at Abbotsford’s Barrowtown pump station.

Officials believe that should the worst case situation occur and the pumps stop working, the water will rise very slowly, first in Abbotsford, giving Yarrow residents an opportunity to leave the area safely.

The current evacuation alert means that residents who return should be prepared to leave at a moment’s notice.

Aerial footage shows the extent of catastrophic floods in mountain areas of Canada’s British Columbia province.

The Fraser Valley, south-east of Vancouver, showed swaths of the land, including highways, underwater.

Watch the footage below.

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• The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) are prepared to send 4,000 troops to hard-hit regions to help with evacuation efforts.
  
• Princeton in BC issued an evacuation alert over lack of clean water and natural gas.
• The small US city of Sumas in Washington, on the Canadian border, has been described as half flooded. Flooding there has hit an estimated three quarters of homes and there have been around about 500 rescues and evacuations reported. Sumas Mayor Kevin Christensen told The Seattle Times: “Half is on dry ground, half has water.”
• British Columbia premier John Horgan declares ‘state of emergency,’ and says death tolls expected to rise in coming days. Travel restrictions are also set to be imposed with supply chains expected to be impacted by the downpour.
  
• Horgan described the disaster as a once-in-500-year event.
• BC agriculture minister aid “thousands of animals have perished” in the flooding so far.
  
• Building trades union and road builders association are reportedly standing at the ready to rebuild.
• People have been evacuating from the Sumas Prairie area near Abbotsford, 80 miles inland from Vancouver, in fear for their lives as the region has been inundated with the devastating flooding.
• About 180 people were rescued Tuesday night during intense flooding in Abbotsford.
  
• Criticism grows over the failure of the BC Government’s Alert Ready emergency system to send out evacuation updates about intense flooding and weather in the BC region.
  
• Thousands of cattle feared stranded as farmers told to save themselves.
  
• Fast-rising water levels from a Sumas River in Washington state overwhelmed rescuers in Abbotsford on Tuesday.
• The Abbotsford mayor issued an evacuation warning with 1,100 homes evacuated so far.
• Canada prime minister Justin Trudeau called the intense flooding in British Columbia a “terrifically bad situation”.
• The weather phenomenon ha been linked to the global climate crisis.
• Authorities have confirmed the death of a woman from a mudslide on Monday and anticipate the death toll to rise.

Canada’s Minister of emergency preparedness, Bill Blair, said in a TV interview that the Canadian Armed Forces are prepared to mobilize as many as 4,000 members to help with evacuation and other efforts on the ground in BC.

The Canadian Armed Forces received a request for assistance last night, Blair said. “And I am advised that they are already moving assets forward into British Columbia to the affected areas”, Blair said. Initially, 300 personnel will be sent but they are prepared to move more. The BC government asked for heavy and medium air support in order to provide evacuation, critical medicine and food, he said.

Princeton in BC issued an evacuation alert over lack of clean water and natural gas. All those living in properties within the boundary of the town are being asked to prepare to evacuate. No hotel accommodations will be provided, but the town has asked residents to gather their belongings, put livestock in safe places and arrange places for them and their families to stay.

The town comprising 3,000 residents has been in a state of emergency for days with little to no access to heat or potable water as relentless rain caused extreme flooding, according to the CBC.

A gas line that supplies the natural gas needed to heat local homes broke on Monday and the water system stopped working on Tuesday.

New images show the damage the Malahat highway, which drivers compared to a river just two days ago, has endured. Only essential travel will be permitted on the highway until the repairs are done. To accommodate those who need alternate routes, the BC Ferry is offering a new route starting tomorrow to get around the Malahat highway.

City officials of Abbotsford are pleading with people kayaking or swimming in the flood waters to stay out of the polluted waters, according to CBC News. The officials say some kayakers have actually made it hard for rescuers who are trying to save stranded people and livestock.

They also warn that the water is extremely polluted and has likely swept up toxic chemicals as well as the decaying bodies of animals that succumbed to the flood.

“I think I saw a few cows that seemed to be floating yesterday from the helicopter ... I saw barns that looked half full of water. I can’t imagine there are any birds left alive,” Abbotsford Mayor Henry Braun told CBC News. “For those reasons, we don’t want people in the water.”