In BC, moreover Vancouver, getting caught in the rain is not a new thing. Getting caught in two months worth of rain in 48 hours is certainly worthy of the headlines. The most insane weather that the author of this article – who is from North Vancouver, BC – has ever seen is currently cutting off roadways, causing landslides and evacuating communities.
The most trending videos across Canada last night were clips of a runaway barge heading toward the Burrard Street Bridge – one of the main arteries into the downtown core. Thankfully, the barge ran aground run beside the seawall instead of actually hitting the bridge which was only about 200 yards away. Nonetheless, #Bargemaggedon was a pretty major focal point.
https://twitter.com/AmigoJor/status/1460352421801070593
Just outside of the main city, the suburbs of Chilliwack and Abbotsford were hit hard as well. Different parts of the Fraser Valley actually needed (and still do need) air evacuations as the majority of Abbotsford was left underwater. Meanwhile, cattle were also herded across highways to keep them from the increasing flood waters.
It’s definitely not every day you see this. An RCMP roadblock is stopping traffic on Highway 3 as cows are herded across the road. They’ve had to be rescued because of flooding pic.twitter.com/jpIGyccQmd
— Jules Knox (@Jules_Knox) November 15, 2021
The city of Merritt – which was put on evacuation notice just a few months ago due to out of control wildfires – was completely evacuated due to the rising rivers. There’s been no indication just yet for when things will normalize and the evac order may be lifted.
https://twitter.com/AlannaKellyNews/status/1460320256367345668
Also to note, the Coquihalla highway – the stretch of road connecting Merritt and the Fraser Valley – has had chunks of concrete completely disappear with some even falling into the river due to nearby landslides. A chunk of highway 3 is also closed between between Manning Park and Hope along with highway 99 between Pemberton and Lillooet.
What this essentially means is that Vancouver is currently disconnected from the rest of Canada by road.
