Close X
Monday, November 25, 2024
ADVT 
National

Death toll rises to three after atmospheric river that drenched southern B.C

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 22 Oct, 2024 03:24 PM
  • Death toll rises to three after atmospheric river that drenched southern B.C

At least three deaths have been linked to torrential rain from an atmospheric river weather system that hammered British Columbia's south coast over the weekend.

On Vancouver Island, police said Tuesday that emergency personnel were waiting for an opportunity to safely recover the body of a driver whose vehicle was submerged when an overflowing river washed out a road near Bamfield on Saturday.

A statement from Port Alberni RCMP said they confirmed the person's body was inside the vehicle on Monday, but high water levels and fast-moving currents in the Sarita River had so far prevented crews from accessing it.

The body of the another driver whose vehicle was also swept off Bamfield Road was earlier found a short distance from their truck, which was spotted in the water by a family member on Saturday night.

The same weather system set off a mudslide that swept away a home in the Metro Vancouver city of Coquitlam on Saturday. The body of a 57-year-old elementary school teacher was recovered in the wreckage on Sunday. 

Police have also asked for the public's help locating a 59-year-old man who was last seen in an area beside the swollen Coquitlam River on Sunday afternoon.

Premier David Eby said the man had been walking by the river with his dog, which was found alive, but "troublingly" very wet, while its owner remains missing.

Environment Canada figures show Coquitlam was among the areas hardest hit by the atmospheric river, receiving 256 millimetres of rain between Friday and Sunday night. 

The province's River Forecast Centre had issued a flood warning for the Coquitlam River, downgrading it to a now-rescinded flood watch on Sunday.

Eby said the coroner's service is investigating the death of another man in the Columbia Valley that "may be associated" with the atmospheric river system.

"My heart goes out to the families of those who are missing, who have died. It's devastating for them and for their communities," Eby told a news conference.

"The shock, I'm sure, is overwhelming, and I know, where we don't have answers yet, the waiting must be excruciating."

It continued to rain Monday in many areas, and Eby urged people to be "extremely cautious" around waterways.

Eby said there are "always lessons" when someone dies or there is significant property damage from weather-related disasters.

"We will be reviewing and ensuring that any lessons that can be taken here about future rainfall or flooding-related incidents are taken into account in terms of the specific deaths we saw here."

MORE National ARTICLES

B.C. commits to earlier, enhanced pensions for wildland firefighters

B.C. commits to earlier, enhanced pensions for wildland firefighters
Eby says in a statement the province and the BC General Employees' Union have reached an agreement-in-principle to "enhance" pensions for firefighting personnel employed directly by the BC Wildfire Service.

B.C. commits to earlier, enhanced pensions for wildland firefighters

Over 60 break and enter charges for Surrey man

Over 60 break and enter charges for Surrey man
R-C-M-P in Surrey say a man has been charged in more than 60 break-and-enters across the Lower Mainland and the B-C Interior. They say officers began investigating a series of residential break-ins where the suspect would steal garage door openers to later access the property.

Over 60 break and enter charges for Surrey man

Body found near railway tracks in Nanaimo

Body found near railway tracks in Nanaimo
Mounties in Nanaimo say officers are investigating a suspicious death of a man whose body was found near railway tracks yesterday. They say a passersby found the body around noon behind the curling club on Wall Street in a forested area.

Body found near railway tracks in Nanaimo

NDP caving to Poilievre on carbon price, has no idea how to fight climate change: PM

NDP caving to Poilievre on carbon price, has no idea how to fight climate change: PM
The NDP is caving to political pressure from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre when it comes to its stance on the consumer carbon price, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Friday. Speaking to reporters in Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, Que., Trudeau blasted the NDP on its equivocation on the consumer carbon price while responding to a question about the upcoming byelection in Montreal.

NDP caving to Poilievre on carbon price, has no idea how to fight climate change: PM

B.C. accepts change for psychiatric care after alleged attack by mentally ill man

B.C. accepts change for psychiatric care after alleged attack by mentally ill man
The report, authored by former Abbotsford Police chief Bob Rich, says the suspect in the stabbing, Blair Donnelly, was on his 100th unescorted leave from the BC Forensic Psychiatric Hospital on Sept. 10, 2023, when he allegedly stabbed three festivalgoers at the Light Up Chinatown Festival. 

B.C. accepts change for psychiatric care after alleged attack by mentally ill man

CSC staff member assaulted in a prison

CSC staff member assaulted in a prison
Correctional Service Canada says a member of the staff was assaulted at the Kent Maximum Security Institution. The federal agency says the staff member was taken to an outside hospital to be treated and evaluated.

CSC staff member assaulted in a prison