80-100 Vehicles Are Trapped Between 2 Landslides In BC & Here's The Rescue Plan
Search and rescue teams in B.C. are trying to reach people trapped in their cars between two landslides.
Daniel Milligan 8 hrs ago
Search and rescue teams in B.C. are trying to reach people trapped in their cars between two landslides.
© Provided by Narcity
Multiple road closures are in place as intense rainfall contributed to several landslides across some of the province's busiest highways.
Two of the landslides, on Highway 7 near Agassiz, trapped between 80-100 vehicles overnight.
In a press conference on Monday morning, Mike Farnworth, B.C.'s minister of public safety, said that they are "looking at the possibility of air rescue" but added that high winds may "challenge these efforts."
Minister Farnworth added, "[The search and rescue teams] are the experts who will be able to determine what the best way is to reach the people who are stranded in their vehicles.
"It is very difficult weather so they will be determining the best way — the safest way — to extricate people who are trapped between those slides. They will be doing it as quickly and as safely as they can."
Terrifying images show another mudslide, which swept across the Coquihalla Highway between Hope and Merritt.
The city of Merritt is among the hardest hit locations in this storm, with some residents told to evacuate their homes and the entire community warned not to use the water due to issues at the wastewater treatment facility.
Multiple road closures are in place as intense rainfall contributed to several landslides across some of the province's busiest highways.
Two of the landslides, on Highway 7 near Agassiz, trapped between 80-100 vehicles overnight.
In a press conference on Monday morning, Mike Farnworth, B.C.'s minister of public safety, said that they are "looking at the possibility of air rescue" but added that high winds may "challenge these efforts."
Minister Farnworth added, "[The search and rescue teams] are the experts who will be able to determine what the best way is to reach the people who are stranded in their vehicles.
"It is very difficult weather so they will be determining the best way — the safest way — to extricate people who are trapped between those slides. They will be doing it as quickly and as safely as they can."
Terrifying images show another mudslide, which swept across the Coquihalla Highway between Hope and Merritt.
The city of Merritt is among the hardest hit locations in this storm, with some residents told to evacuate their homes and the entire community warned not to use the water due to issues at the wastewater treatment facility.
Helicopters start rescue efforts after landslide traps hundreds on B.C. highway
CBC/Radio-Canada 13 hrs ago
Rescue efforts by helicopter are underway after two mudslides trapped hundreds of people on a southern B.C. highway while an assessment has started to determine if others may have ended up in the flow of debris.
The landslides, which occurred on Sunday on Highway 7 near Agassiz, B.C., about 125 kilometres east of Vancouver, came as communities in southern parts of the province dealt with heavy rainfall.
As many as 275 people, among them 50 children, have been trapped on the stretch of highway since Sunday evening, the City of Vancouver and Canada Task Force 1, the locally based urban search and rescue team, said in a joint release.
It says they were joined by Chilliwack Search and Rescue and a geotechnical engineer to survey the area for anyone who may be trapped in the debris.
Canadian Forces Cormorant helicopters started the first of multiple rescue flights on Monday, transporting evacuees between the slide area and a reception centre in nearby Agassiz.
David Boone, the team director of the Heavy Urban Search and Rescue Task Force team in B.C. and an assistant chief at the Vancouver Fire Department, said early Monday that his team hasn't yet had a full view of the scope of the landslides and debris flow.
Boone said his team arrived to support members of the fire department in Agassiz, who had already rescued at least 12 people trapped in vehicles from the debris flow. Two others were rescued on the east side, by either a search and rescue team or workers from the fire department in Hope, he told CBC News Network.
"What complicates this situation is we have two slides on Highway 7 and we have people that were trapped in the debris … and some have been rescued," Boone told CBC's Heather Hiscox, noting that officials are not yet sure if there are other vehicles missing and other people who are not accounted for.
He said officials believe there are approximately 50 vehicles trapped on Highway 7 in between the two debris fields, with approximately two to three people in each vehicle.
B.C. Minister of Public Safety Mike Farnworth said search and rescue crews were mobilized early in the morning, but the conditions have been difficult.
"One of the challenges they have been facing, obviously, is the weather and the ability to get into the area safely," Farnworth said at a news conference on Monday.
"That's currently being assessed. And, they will be doing everything they can to ensure that they reach people who are trapped in their vehicles between those slides as quickly as possible, but also as safely as possible."
Boone said he spoke to a nurse who was travelling in one of the vehicles who was doing assessments. The nurse found those they had seen were "safe and secure at this time." People trapped between the slides have been urged to stay in their vehicles for now, he said.
'It's very scary'
Martina Martinkova, who is trapped in her vehicle with her daughter on Highway 7, said she is "very stressed."
"We don't have any information," she said in an interview with Heather Hiscox Monday morning. She said she's been trying for hours to find out what will happen with rescue efforts.
People were starting to share their food and water, she said, noting that she saw at least one family on the highway with a baby.
She said she's been in touch with her loved ones, who know she and her daughter are safe.
"You see this in the movies, honestly, and you thought it will never touch you," she said. "It's very scary."
Adam Wuisman and his fiancé were travelling back to their home in Richmond, B.C., on Highway 7, following a weekend trip in Nelson, when he said a landslide came down behind them.
"We were going westbound and there were huge lines of traffic ... and all of a sudden, I noticed there's no vehicles behind us, which was odd," he told CBC's The Early Edition on Monday morning.
"We must have just missed the first [landslide] and now somehow we're between both of them."
The pair have been stuck on that stretch of Highway 7 since 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Wuisman said.
"It's a very eerie feeling here," he described.
"When we got here, everybody had their headlights on and then slowly, as the hours passed, headlights went off and everything became pitch-black."
Emergency officials said they don't yet have a complete picture of how many people are trapped. Wuisman, however, said he thinks there are far more than 50 vehicles stuck — estimating around 200 to 300 vehicles stranded on that patch of highway.
"I definitely heard people screaming for help," he said.
"It's kind of helpless to feel like you're between a very vulnerable mountainside side and the Fraser River on the other side. And there's really nothing you can do about it, but hope nothing comes down on top of you."
Officials hope to survey from air
Boone, who noted that officials are "still a bit blind" on the full scope of the issue, said the stability of the ground and issues around hydro wires are complicating the rescue efforts.
He said it's too dangerous to get close right now, noting that further assessments will come at daybreak.
"We're assessing as to the best access points for us to make entry into the area," he said, noting that rescue workers will co-ordinate with CP Rail as the best way in may be along a rail line.
"We won't put our rescuers into the area until we determine it's safe to do so," he said, noting that they hope to be able to survey from the air later in the day.
CBC/Radio-Canada 13 hrs ago
Rescue efforts by helicopter are underway after two mudslides trapped hundreds of people on a southern B.C. highway while an assessment has started to determine if others may have ended up in the flow of debris.
The landslides, which occurred on Sunday on Highway 7 near Agassiz, B.C., about 125 kilometres east of Vancouver, came as communities in southern parts of the province dealt with heavy rainfall.
As many as 275 people, among them 50 children, have been trapped on the stretch of highway since Sunday evening, the City of Vancouver and Canada Task Force 1, the locally based urban search and rescue team, said in a joint release.
It says they were joined by Chilliwack Search and Rescue and a geotechnical engineer to survey the area for anyone who may be trapped in the debris.
Canadian Forces Cormorant helicopters started the first of multiple rescue flights on Monday, transporting evacuees between the slide area and a reception centre in nearby Agassiz.
David Boone, the team director of the Heavy Urban Search and Rescue Task Force team in B.C. and an assistant chief at the Vancouver Fire Department, said early Monday that his team hasn't yet had a full view of the scope of the landslides and debris flow.
Boone said his team arrived to support members of the fire department in Agassiz, who had already rescued at least 12 people trapped in vehicles from the debris flow. Two others were rescued on the east side, by either a search and rescue team or workers from the fire department in Hope, he told CBC News Network.
"What complicates this situation is we have two slides on Highway 7 and we have people that were trapped in the debris … and some have been rescued," Boone told CBC's Heather Hiscox, noting that officials are not yet sure if there are other vehicles missing and other people who are not accounted for.
He said officials believe there are approximately 50 vehicles trapped on Highway 7 in between the two debris fields, with approximately two to three people in each vehicle.
B.C. Minister of Public Safety Mike Farnworth said search and rescue crews were mobilized early in the morning, but the conditions have been difficult.
"One of the challenges they have been facing, obviously, is the weather and the ability to get into the area safely," Farnworth said at a news conference on Monday.
"That's currently being assessed. And, they will be doing everything they can to ensure that they reach people who are trapped in their vehicles between those slides as quickly as possible, but also as safely as possible."
Boone said he spoke to a nurse who was travelling in one of the vehicles who was doing assessments. The nurse found those they had seen were "safe and secure at this time." People trapped between the slides have been urged to stay in their vehicles for now, he said.
'It's very scary'
Martina Martinkova, who is trapped in her vehicle with her daughter on Highway 7, said she is "very stressed."
"We don't have any information," she said in an interview with Heather Hiscox Monday morning. She said she's been trying for hours to find out what will happen with rescue efforts.
People were starting to share their food and water, she said, noting that she saw at least one family on the highway with a baby.
She said she's been in touch with her loved ones, who know she and her daughter are safe.
"You see this in the movies, honestly, and you thought it will never touch you," she said. "It's very scary."
Adam Wuisman and his fiancé were travelling back to their home in Richmond, B.C., on Highway 7, following a weekend trip in Nelson, when he said a landslide came down behind them.
"We were going westbound and there were huge lines of traffic ... and all of a sudden, I noticed there's no vehicles behind us, which was odd," he told CBC's The Early Edition on Monday morning.
"We must have just missed the first [landslide] and now somehow we're between both of them."
The pair have been stuck on that stretch of Highway 7 since 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Wuisman said.
"It's a very eerie feeling here," he described.
"When we got here, everybody had their headlights on and then slowly, as the hours passed, headlights went off and everything became pitch-black."
Emergency officials said they don't yet have a complete picture of how many people are trapped. Wuisman, however, said he thinks there are far more than 50 vehicles stuck — estimating around 200 to 300 vehicles stranded on that patch of highway.
"I definitely heard people screaming for help," he said.
"It's kind of helpless to feel like you're between a very vulnerable mountainside side and the Fraser River on the other side. And there's really nothing you can do about it, but hope nothing comes down on top of you."
Officials hope to survey from air
Boone, who noted that officials are "still a bit blind" on the full scope of the issue, said the stability of the ground and issues around hydro wires are complicating the rescue efforts.
He said it's too dangerous to get close right now, noting that further assessments will come at daybreak.
"We're assessing as to the best access points for us to make entry into the area," he said, noting that rescue workers will co-ordinate with CP Rail as the best way in may be along a rail line.
"We won't put our rescuers into the area until we determine it's safe to do so," he said, noting that they hope to be able to survey from the air later in the day.
Communities affected by extreme heat and wildfires are forced to flee their homes again after record downpour
A view of the Coquihalla Highway following mudslides and flooding in British Columbia, Canada, on Sunday. Photograph: British Columbia Transportation/Reuters
Leyland Cecco in Toronto
Mon 15 Nov 2021
Communities in western Canada who were forced to flee their homes this summer by wildfires and extreme heat are once again under evacuation orders after overwhelming floods across the region.
Helicopters were dispatched on Monday to Highway 7, more than 100 kilometres (62 miles) east of Vancouver, to rescue about 275 people, including 50 children, who had been stranded on the road since it was blocked by a mudslide late on Sunday.
“I definitely heard people screaming for help,” Adam Wuisman, who was driving the section of the highway when a landslide hit, told CBC News. “It’s kind of helpless to feel like you’re between a very vulnerable mountainside on one side and the Fraser River on the other side. And there’s really nothing you can do about it, but hope nothing comes down on top of you.”
Images of surging rivers, mudslides, flooded cities and destroyed highways circulated on social media as officials scrambled to assess the full extent of the damage, warning residents the situation could deteriorate further as winds picked up throughout the day.
According to Environment Canada, 225 millimetres of rain fell on the community of Hope since the storm began Saturday and 180 millimetres had fallen around Agassiz and Chilliwack in the eastern part of the Fraser Valley.
After two bridges and its water treatment facility were overwhelmed by flood waters, the city of Merritt issued an evacuation order to all residents, warning that “continued habitation of the community without sanitary services presents risk of mass sewage back-up and personal health risk”.
Here in British Columbia, we have spent the summer running from cruel wildfires
Mary Stockdale
Merritt last issued evacuation orders this summer after the wildfire that destroyed the village of Lytton came dangerously close to the city.+
Since June, the province has experienced a record-setting “heat dome”, huge wildfires that destroyed two communities and choked the air for weeks, that experts say was worsened by the climate crisis. Last week, Vancouver, British Columbia’s largest city, was briefly placed under tornado watch, a rare event for the region.
Leyland Cecco in Toronto
Mon 15 Nov 2021
Communities in western Canada who were forced to flee their homes this summer by wildfires and extreme heat are once again under evacuation orders after overwhelming floods across the region.
Helicopters were dispatched on Monday to Highway 7, more than 100 kilometres (62 miles) east of Vancouver, to rescue about 275 people, including 50 children, who had been stranded on the road since it was blocked by a mudslide late on Sunday.
“I definitely heard people screaming for help,” Adam Wuisman, who was driving the section of the highway when a landslide hit, told CBC News. “It’s kind of helpless to feel like you’re between a very vulnerable mountainside on one side and the Fraser River on the other side. And there’s really nothing you can do about it, but hope nothing comes down on top of you.”
Images of surging rivers, mudslides, flooded cities and destroyed highways circulated on social media as officials scrambled to assess the full extent of the damage, warning residents the situation could deteriorate further as winds picked up throughout the day.
According to Environment Canada, 225 millimetres of rain fell on the community of Hope since the storm began Saturday and 180 millimetres had fallen around Agassiz and Chilliwack in the eastern part of the Fraser Valley.
After two bridges and its water treatment facility were overwhelmed by flood waters, the city of Merritt issued an evacuation order to all residents, warning that “continued habitation of the community without sanitary services presents risk of mass sewage back-up and personal health risk”.
Here in British Columbia, we have spent the summer running from cruel wildfires
Mary Stockdale
Merritt last issued evacuation orders this summer after the wildfire that destroyed the village of Lytton came dangerously close to the city.+
Since June, the province has experienced a record-setting “heat dome”, huge wildfires that destroyed two communities and choked the air for weeks, that experts say was worsened by the climate crisis. Last week, Vancouver, British Columbia’s largest city, was briefly placed under tornado watch, a rare event for the region.
Heavy rains force evacuations, trap motorists in Canada
Issued on: 15/11/2021 -
Issued on: 15/11/2021 -
A view of a road near Popkum following mudslides and flooding in British Columbia, Canada, on Sunday. Photograph: British Columbia Transportation/Reuters
Ottawa (AFP) – Relentless rain battered Canada's Pacific coast on Monday, forcing a town's evacuation and trapping motorists as mudslides, rocks and debris were washed across major highways.
"Heavy rains and subsequent mudslides/flooding have impacted various highways in the BC interior," British Columbia's transportation ministry said on Twitter.
Rescuers were deployed to free people trapped for hours in 80-100 cars and trucks between two mudslides near the town of Agassiz, the province's safety minister, Mike Farnworth, told a news conference.
"We are looking at the possibility of air rescues, if needed," he said, adding that "high winds may challenge these efforts."
Farnworth said there had been "multiple rain-induced incidents" in the southwest and central regions of the province, describing the situation as "dynamic."
In the city of Abbotsford, outside Vancouver, authorities ordered more than 100 homes evacuated in several neighborhoods threatened by flooding and mudslides.
The town of Merritt, 290 kilometres (180 miles) east of the coastal city, also ordered all 7,000 of its residents to leave after their wastewater treatment plant was compromised and two bridges were washed out, according to a statement.
Emergency centers were set up for displaced residents of both communities.
Environment Canada said up to 250 millimetres (almost 10 inches) of rain was expected by the afternoon in and around Vancouver, which was also hit last week by a rare tornado.
"A significant atmospheric river event continues to (bring) copious amounts of rain to the BC south coast today," it said.
"Heavy rain will continue this morning and ease this afternoon as the system moves inland."
Environment Canada meteorologist Armel Castellan said strong winds gusting up to 90 kilometers per hour (55 miles per hour) could cause widespread power outages.
The extreme weather comes after British Columbia suffered record-high temperatures over the summer that killed more than 500 people, as well as wildfires that destroyed a town.
© 2021 AFP
Ottawa (AFP) – Relentless rain battered Canada's Pacific coast on Monday, forcing a town's evacuation and trapping motorists as mudslides, rocks and debris were washed across major highways.
"Heavy rains and subsequent mudslides/flooding have impacted various highways in the BC interior," British Columbia's transportation ministry said on Twitter.
Rescuers were deployed to free people trapped for hours in 80-100 cars and trucks between two mudslides near the town of Agassiz, the province's safety minister, Mike Farnworth, told a news conference.
"We are looking at the possibility of air rescues, if needed," he said, adding that "high winds may challenge these efforts."
Farnworth said there had been "multiple rain-induced incidents" in the southwest and central regions of the province, describing the situation as "dynamic."
In the city of Abbotsford, outside Vancouver, authorities ordered more than 100 homes evacuated in several neighborhoods threatened by flooding and mudslides.
The town of Merritt, 290 kilometres (180 miles) east of the coastal city, also ordered all 7,000 of its residents to leave after their wastewater treatment plant was compromised and two bridges were washed out, according to a statement.
Emergency centers were set up for displaced residents of both communities.
Environment Canada said up to 250 millimetres (almost 10 inches) of rain was expected by the afternoon in and around Vancouver, which was also hit last week by a rare tornado.
"A significant atmospheric river event continues to (bring) copious amounts of rain to the BC south coast today," it said.
"Heavy rain will continue this morning and ease this afternoon as the system moves inland."
Environment Canada meteorologist Armel Castellan said strong winds gusting up to 90 kilometers per hour (55 miles per hour) could cause widespread power outages.
The extreme weather comes after British Columbia suffered record-high temperatures over the summer that killed more than 500 people, as well as wildfires that destroyed a town.
© 2021 AFP
Entire city of Merritt, B.C. forced to evacuate
due to flooding
The entire City of Merritt, population 7,000, is under an evacuation order after flooding caused the complete failure of the municipality’s wastewater treatment plant in what city officials are calling an “immediate danger to public health and safety.”
“The wastewater treatment plant is inundated and non-operational and will be for an indefinite period of time,” reads the order, which was issued at 10:05 a.m. PT Monday, reports The Weather Network.
“Continued habitation of the community without sanitary services presents the risk of mass sewage back-up and personal health risk.”
BC Transportation
The heavy rains that began over the weekend have led to severe flooding, along with roads being washed out and bridges being inundated. Rescue efforts have been initiated after 80 to 100 vehicles were stuck on numerous roads due to mudslides, rock debris, and flooding.
Some residents of the city were awakened Sunday night and ordered to evacuate. Merritt resident Brodie McDonald said he received a knock on the door around 12:30 a.m. and only had a little time to pack as the water was rising quickly.
McDonald said, “Some of the road in front of my house is washed out. The pavement is actually ripped up and there is a truck falling into a sinkhole in the water.”
The heavy rains that began over the weekend have led to severe flooding, along with roads being washed out and bridges being inundated. Rescue efforts have been initiated after 80 to 100 vehicles were stuck on numerous roads due to mudslides, rock debris, and flooding.
Some residents of the city were awakened Sunday night and ordered to evacuate. Merritt resident Brodie McDonald said he received a knock on the door around 12:30 a.m. and only had a little time to pack as the water was rising quickly.
McDonald said, “Some of the road in front of my house is washed out. The pavement is actually ripped up and there is a truck falling into a sinkhole in the water.”
BC Hydro
At around 7:30 a.m. Monday, officials issued another evacuation order covering the Collettville neighborhood, warning that residents might have to be rescued by helicopter if they didn’t flee quickly.
“Merritt is and will remain strong,” Mayor Linda Brown said in a statement, per CTV News Canada. “Please, offer help to your friends, families, and neighbors, drive safely, and take care of yourselves. We will meet each other again, in our homes, where we belong.”
And according to Reuters, Canada’s Trans Mountain oil pipeline has been shut down temporarily because of rainstorms pounding parts of the province of British Columbia, the operating company said in a statement on Monday.
At around 7:30 a.m. Monday, officials issued another evacuation order covering the Collettville neighborhood, warning that residents might have to be rescued by helicopter if they didn’t flee quickly.
“Merritt is and will remain strong,” Mayor Linda Brown said in a statement, per CTV News Canada. “Please, offer help to your friends, families, and neighbors, drive safely, and take care of yourselves. We will meet each other again, in our homes, where we belong.”
And according to Reuters, Canada’s Trans Mountain oil pipeline has been shut down temporarily because of rainstorms pounding parts of the province of British Columbia, the operating company said in a statement on Monday.
Do not cross rivers or flowing streams, Don’t walk or drive across flooded roads, and Follow all directions from local officials. Environment Canada.
“As a precaution, Trans Mountain has shut down the Trans Mountain Pipeline due to widespread flooding and debris flows in the area around Hope, BC,” a company spokeswoman said in an email.
Monday at about 1:30 a.m., the City of Merritt issued an evacuation order for several addresses in the 200-year flood plain of the Coldwater River, south of Nicola Avenue.
“If you are within the 200-year flood plain of the Coldwater River, South of Nicola Avenue you must evacuate immediately,” the city’s notice said. “The city will update this evacuation order as soon as possible with specific property addresses.”
“As a precaution, Trans Mountain has shut down the Trans Mountain Pipeline due to widespread flooding and debris flows in the area around Hope, BC,” a company spokeswoman said in an email.
Monday at about 1:30 a.m., the City of Merritt issued an evacuation order for several addresses in the 200-year flood plain of the Coldwater River, south of Nicola Avenue.
“If you are within the 200-year flood plain of the Coldwater River, South of Nicola Avenue you must evacuate immediately,” the city’s notice said. “The city will update this evacuation order as soon as possible with specific property addresses.”
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