Thousands of people are still displaced by the floods in western Canada | Flood News

About 18,000 people are missing floodwaters in western Canada, later mud destroyed roads, houses, bridges and other valuables in a disaster that could be the most costly in this country.

The declining flooding Thursday was helping rescue operations, but rain closed all the towns in the province of British Columbia (BC) and reduced access to Canada’s largest port in Vancouver, disrupting the already exhausted chains around the world.

Floods come in a few months wildfires have caused much damage several areas of BC after the “dome heat” brought heat to the region this summer.

The blaze is likely to have left vegetative mountains, causing floods and landslides, experts have warned. climate problem making the weather extremely difficult and frequent.

Bill Blair, Canada’s first minister of emergency services, said on Thursday that the federal government would help BC rebuild and restore much-needed weapons in flood-affected areas.

“I know there is still a lot of uncertainty and anxiety during this difficult time,” Blair told reporters Thursday afternoon.

“But I want to reassure all Canadians, especially the people of British Columbia, that we will be there to support, support, and work with all government agencies to ensure that they receive the services and services they need.”

Shihab Rattansi of Al Jazeera, from Abbotsford, a town about 40 kilometers east of Vancouver that was hit hard by the floods, said serious uncertainty continued.

“Just because water is depleting does not mean that even roads, bridges and highways are in good condition,” said Rattansi. “Due to the high level of rainfall – a one-month rainfall of about two days on Sunday and Monday – and major waves are still underwater. Economic activity in the region has been severely affected.”

Previously, BC Premier John Horgan, who announced the skin On Wednesday, he said the death toll from the floods, which is represented here, should rise.

Abbotsford officials complained that the floodwaters had flooded the local pumping station and forced all 160,000 people to evacuate.

“It’s the worst flood I’ve ever seen,” resident Steve Gosselin told AFP news agency.

Hundreds of people were evacuated to Sumas Prairie overnight while they were at risk of flooding carried north of the Nooksack River in the United States, Abbotsford Mayor Henry Braun said.

Braun said Thursday that there had been no change in the pumping station and that water was coming down “at a fair price” in some areas – but warned that the problem was not over.

“We are still reversing the emergency,” he said at a briefing, indicating that more rain is expected next week.

“We are not leaving yet,” Braun said, adding that he had been promised support by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and several regional ministers. “I take them all in stride. But I have fixed a major bill for them at the end of this, “he added, adding that it would cost $ 792m to repair local damage.

This indicates that the final cost of flooding in BC exceeded $ 285m in insurance losses linked to wildfires that hit an oil field in Alberta. Fort McMurray in May 2016.

“It’s the cheapest natural disaster in Canadian history. We can’t be close, “said Blake Shaffer, a professor of economics at the University of Calgary, who specializes in climate change.

Washout from the floodplain was spotted near Whatcom Road in Abbotsford, British Columbia on November 18th. [Philip McLachlan/AFP]

Disruption of Vancouver’s port operations is expected to exacerbate existing problems and could make Christmas trees more difficult to obtain, farmers said.

BC Agriculture Minister Lana Popham also said many farm animals had died and many others were “in trouble”, locked up and facing shortages of food and drinking water.

Meanwhile, Canadian troops on Thursday joined the rescue operation, sending Hercules aircraft, several hunting helicopters and hundreds of troops to the area, and deploying thousands more.

Their duties “include providing evacuation assistance, transporting emergency personnel and weapons, and identifying areas,” said military spokesman Alex Roy.

More than 1,000 commuters were hit by mud, rocks and debris between Sunday and Monday in the town of Hope, about 150 miles (90 miles) east of Vancouver.

The search, meanwhile, continues to continue with other mud-stricken people near Lillooet, 250 kilometers northeast of Vancouver, the body of a woman found this week. Federal police say at least four people are still missing in that slide.