It doesn’t rain, but it pours. British Columbia is battling road washouts, flooding, and evacuations.
Prime Minister Trudeau states, “We’re sending help your way. We’ve approved the province’s request for assistance, and we’ll have more Canadian Armed Forces members on the ground as soon as possible – to keep you safe, support supply chain routes, and provide other necessary assistance.”
The Trans-Canada Highway and Highway #5 have major washouts. Rail lines are in the flood/washout zone.
Vancouver is in effect by road cut off from the rest of Canada today… and with the onset of winter, road repairs could take a while.
AFN National Chief Archibald says that AFN is in contact with ISC Minister Patty Hajdu and BCAFN Regional Chief Terry Teegee. Urgent responses are underway to assist the First Nations impacted.
CN Rail says, “Crews continue to perform critical repair work following the mud slides and washouts that interrupted the movement of railway traffic through southern B.C. Northbound and eastbound traffic from Vancouver, as well as inbound traffic to Vancouver from east/north of Kamloops are still impacted by the situation. Crews are working as quickly as they safely can.”
VIA Rail in a statement to NetNewsLedger says, “In terms of our service, as you know the heavy rains and mudslides have led to track closures in Southern B.C., and that has forced the cancellation of VIA Rail train #2 which was supposed to depart Vancouver Monday, November 15, 2021.
“Passengers who had booked on this train, were offered a full refund, or an opportunity to rebook at a later date with no extra charges.
“Train #1 from Toronto to Vancouver has been stopped in Winnipeg.
“Passengers who were planning to board in Winnipeg were offered a full refund, or an opportunity to rebook at a later date with no extra charges. Passengers already on board were offered alternate transportation either by bus (in cases where the roads are passable) or by plane, to their final destinations.
“At this time, due to the ongoing severe weather conditions, the infrastructure owner is not able to provide VIA Rail with an estimate on when the tracks will be cleared and trains can begin operating again. We apologize for any inconvenience this extreme situation may be causing to our passengers.”