 |
| A map of Northern British Columbia. The areas affected by flooding are in the Peace River Distrcit (NE BC) |
 |
| I'm not sure who took this aerial photo but it was one of the first ones I came across on line. It showed me just how devastating the flood is. |
Here is some drone footage of the flooding. It also gives a good overview.
 |
| Photo credit: Chet News, M Gomez |
The Canadian National Railway (CNR) service between Prince George in north central BC and Ft. St. John in the north, is not running. If you look at the tracks going over the water in photo above you will see how precarious some of the railway tracks now are.
The Highway 97 south of the town of Chetwynd to MacKenzie is closed. Here is some film footage of the highway taken just before it was shut down.
Altogether the people in the far north are "hemmed in" and a state of emergency has been called. Hospitals in some towns are accepting emergency patients only. Mother nature has spoken yet again. Apparently the City of Dawson Creek had a record rainfall on Monday, June 15, 2016 of 89.8 millimeters.
Disaster Financial Assistance (DFA) is now available to eligible British Columbians in the Peace River Regional District area, including Dawson Creek, Chetwynd, Fort St John, Hudson’s Hope, Pouce Coupe, Taylor, Tumbler Ridge and the First Nations communities of Saulteaux and West Moberly who may have been impacted from the major flooding that occurred this past week. A public meeting will be held on Monday, June 20 at 7:00PM at the Encana Events Centre to help people access the DFA.
I encourage my reader to view the drone footage. Even under water you can see how beautiful the area is at this time of year. I grew up in this area of the province and so I am concerned about the people there. As a child I walked through this park area many times to reach school. It is so hard to believe it caused a flood because the water levels were always quite low and the creek was often more like a trickle. That's the difference a heavy rainfall can make.
22 comments:
Oh my, how devastating! I hope it does flood more. The area does look so pretty though. Do you still live near there?
We've heard nothing about this on the news. the news guys are being lazy again.
Hi Joyful, Wow, Canada is getting hit with some unusually tough weather conditions lately or perhaps the internet is bringing this more to our attention. Or is it just that I am following more Canadian bloggers? :-) The drone footage was quite well done and, like you mentioned, gives a good overview. My curiosity led me to open up Google Earth and take a better look at Dawson Creek. It is an interesting place ... hope to see it in person one of these days. The flood damage reminds me of the recent damage in Fort McMurray and I wonder how folks are doing there. The media is dropping the ball on keeping us updated on that story. Thanks for sharing this information. The forecast for our part of the world is looking good for the next few days ... hope you have a fine week!
How horrible! Stay safe my friend,
Meredith
Thank you for visiting Melanie. I now live far away fro the north. I live about 1200 km south or 740 miles.
Hi Red, I'm surprised it hasn't been your news since the area affected is much larger than Fort McMurray. It made the Vancouver nightly news all week.
Hi John, yes, sadly no part of the world or area of a country seems immune from natural disasters. I got the news on the television's nightly news in Vancouver not off the internet though video and pics are not mine. You would have a good excuse to pass through Dawson Creek if you were to drive to Alaska because Dawson Creek is "Mile 0" of the Alaska Highway. When I was a young teenager working in restaurants, I served many American tourist doing just that. Fort McMurray residents have started returning home and dealing with the devastating aftermaths of fire and rebuilding.
Yes, it is horrible Meredith. Especially when combined with the recent devastating fires in the area and the city of Fort MacMurray in next door province suffering from burning. There is a lot of cost, devastation for the people and rebuilding to be done.
This is so sad to see. Rain is so rare for us here in the desert of southern New Mexico, but it defines us, and they say that there are two ways to die in the desert--thirst and drowning. We long for rain, but it is very dangerous to us when it comes in any quantity, as it gathers quickly and causes flash floods. I am sorry that your province is suffering from these floods.
Thank you Clairz. I understand about your hazard in the desert. It is similar to the dry places in Kenya, a country which I love so much. I appreciate your kind words. xx
Wow! So much destruction! I hope the area gets help quickly!
Hi Georgene, usually in a declared state of emergency help arrives quickly to restore infrastructure. I think for personal homeowner and business insurance, things can move more slowly due to the deluge of applicants and the insurer's investigative process.
The village I was born in in the Uk was flooded this week - very heavy summer rain. Anybody would think that the climate was changing.
Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne
Hi Stewart, I'm sorry to hear that. There have been so many flooded cities all over the world. Hard to believe there are still people who don't think the world's climate is changing.
Oh how awful! We had three "once in a lifetime" floods last year into this one. I always thought it would be neat to live on a river's edge or beside a lake, but I have seen too many people lose their homes to flooding...not only homes, but livestock as well...not to mention the wildlife, trees and plants. Mother Nature sure seems to be on a rampage lately. I'm so sorry to hear about the British Columbia flood. This is the first I have heard of it.
Hello Joyfull!:) Oh my goodness these scenes are devastating. I feel so sorry for all those who suffered damages to their properties, and hope no lives were lost.
Oh my Terri, you really have suffered too! I too thought it would be nice to live by water. These days I am thankful I do not.
Yes, so much damage. To the best of my knowledge though no one lost their lives. Thank God for that.
Hi Nora, I'm so glad you've visited in the Peace River region. It is such a pretty area and I find so many people never travel there.
Hi Joyful, Thanks for the info on Dawson Creek and Fort McMurray. Also thanks for your kind comments on my blog. Re the Strawberry Full Moon ... No worries about not hearing about it before. :-) I was in the same boat. I guess I haven't really gotten too excited about a June Full Moon until this one, what with it being on the Solstice Day. So, I had go look up the Native American names and used the Old Farmers Almanac to do that. It does make sense, though, doesn't it ... at least for those around our area here since the strawberries are being harvested right now. Maybe since we are not "Old Farmers" we have a good excuse not to know! By the way, I liked your use of "ahem" ... I don't see it so often but like it when I do! :-) Hope your week is going well!
That's a terrifying amount of water. I must have missed it in the news. I'm sure things have been cleaned up by now and hopefully all is returning to normal.
It seems that flooding is happening in many places lately. I pray that people are safe and 'things' are replacef as best they can be.
Post a Comment