Close X
Wednesday, December 4, 2024
ADVT 
National

B.C. sees 'significant amount of instability and bank failures' after slide

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 06 Aug, 2024 09:46 AM
  • B.C. sees 'significant amount of instability and bank failures' after slide

British Columbia officials say there is a risk of more landslides and bank erosion as a large lake of water and debris flows past a landslide that blocked the Chilcotin River for days. 

The latest provincial update says a "significant amount of instability and bank failures" have been observed along the Chilcotin River from the confluence of the Fraser River to the site of the massive landslide. 

Videos shared by the Tsilqot'in National Government show a small cabin, whole trees and chunks of the riverbank washing away in the fast-moving river.

The provincial update says officials haven't confirmed if the water flows that moved over the blockage on Monday have peaked, and it's possible that there may be another surge as the water moves through unstable sediments.

It says there is significant wood debris moving in the Chilcotin and Fraser rivers

Connie Chapman with the province's water management branch said the pulse of water after the dam breached Monday morning will make its way toward the Fraser River, and modelling shows it will reach the community of Hope sometime today. 

Chapman said some places will see river levels swell to those comparable to a spring runoff, flowing down through the Fraser Canyon to Hope, which will see river levels increase about one metre. 

She said once the water enters the Fraser River, it will have more room to spread out and officials will be monitoring how and where debris from the water pulse ends up. 

Water and Resource Minister Nathan Cullen said experts from the province, First Nations and Canada's Fisheries Department "worked tirelessly" on the response to the landslide, which entered a "new phase" once it breached on Monday. 

Cullen said they were preparing for "all possibilities," and though the risks are decreasing after the dam breach, the possibility of more landslides due to unstable slopes remains "a real concern." 

MORE National ARTICLES

Interest rate cut possible this week: Economists

Interest rate cut possible this week: Economists
Economists and market watchers are betting the Bank of Canada will deliver another interest rate cut this week amid mounting evidence that inflation is sustainably easing. Expectations that the bank will lower its overnight lending rate when it makes its scheduled announcement Wednesday have been high since last week's release of the latest Statistics Canada inflation report, which showed annual inflation cooled to 2.7 per cent in June.

Interest rate cut possible this week: Economists

Surrey female assaulted in her sleep

Surrey female assaulted in her sleep
Surrey RCMP say they are looking for a male suspect after he allegedly got into the residence of a woman and groped the victim in her sleep. Police say officers responded to the call on Saturday morning in the 141-hundred block of 91 Avenue.

Surrey female assaulted in her sleep

Motorcyclist killed in crash with fire truck in Vancouver

Motorcyclist killed in crash with fire truck in Vancouver
A motorcyclist has died after a collision involving a Vancouver fire truck responding to a call. Vancouver Fire Rescue Services say in a statement that the crash happened this afternoon near Lost Lagoon on the Stanley Park Causeway.

Motorcyclist killed in crash with fire truck in Vancouver

Interior residents get ready to flee as B.C. fire tally soars past 300

Interior residents get ready to flee as B.C. fire tally soars past 300
It's the first time The Inn at Spences Bridge has been empty since April. Dorothy Boragno, who owns the inn with her husband Michael Findlay, said Friday they watched thick smoke across the Thompson River from the out-of-control Shetland Creek wildfire that has already forced others to evacuate.

Interior residents get ready to flee as B.C. fire tally soars past 300

B.C. hospitals pivot to paper amid CrowdStrike global technology outage

B.C. hospitals pivot to paper amid CrowdStrike global technology outage
About 50,000 devices in British Columbia hospitals and health facilities were impacted by the CrowdStrike global technology outage, forcing staff to pivot to using paper to manage everything from lab work to meal orders, the province's health minister said.  Adrian Dix said experts began immediately working on the problem, which has impacted computers running Microsoft Windows, and that the systems are beginning to come back online.

B.C. hospitals pivot to paper amid CrowdStrike global technology outage

Body of missing B.C. teenager found in Surrey, RCMP say death is suspicious

Body of missing B.C. teenager found in Surrey, RCMP say death is suspicious
Homicide investigators are looking into the death of a Langley teenager whose body was found in the Port Kells area of Surrey. Surrey RCMP say the body of 17-year-old Wenyan Michael Zhao was found in the 17900-block of 99A Avenue at 5:30 a.m. Friday.

Body of missing B.C. teenager found in Surrey, RCMP say death is suspicious