Flash floods 'imminent' after Chilcotin landslide: officials
CBC
The Tŝilhqot'in National Government (TNG) has declared a local state of emergency after a landslide blocked the Chilcotin River in British Columbia's Cariboo region.
The announcement came Thursday afternoon following a slide of soil and debris upstream of Nagwentled, also known as Farwell Canyon, around 285 kilometres north of Vancouver. The TNG said the landslide is currently fully blocking the river.
Emergency officials said earlier in the day that flash floods are "imminent" and could happen within 24 or 48 hours.
"Flooding is building up above the dam created by the landslide, so it's like a lake," Cariboo Regional District chair Margo Wagner said at a virtual news conference Thursday.
"There is a high risk of a flash flood downstream if the river breaches that landslide — which it is expected to do eventually."
At a news conference Thursday, Nathan Cullen, the B.C. minister of water, land and resource stewardship, said the dam created by the landslide is 600 metres wide and 30 metres deep.
B.C. Emergency Preparedness and Climate Change Minister Bowinn Ma said on-site monitors show water is slowly leaking through the dam.
The B.C. River Forecast Centre issued a flood warning for the Chilcotin River upstream of the landslide. It's also issued a flood watch for the Fraser River, from where it meets the Chilcotin River downstream to Hope, B.C.
Ma asked residents to stay away from the banks of the Chilcotin River from Hanceville to the Fraser River and anywhere on or along the Fraser River from the Chilcotin River to Hope.
"If this dam were to break, it is possible that dozens of evacuation orders will be issued along both rivers, and people need to be prepared," Ma said.
Wagner told reporters water could either rise up over the landslide, or water could cause a fissure in the earthen barrier, causing it to give way.
"We don't know exactly when this landslide is going to give way," she said. "There would be a mass of water coming down."
Satellite images show the Nagwentled area of the Chilcotin River before and after the slide:
She said many trees and debris from a wildfire in the region is also being held behind the landslide.
There have been four collisions involving transport trucks in northwestern Ontario in three days, prompting renewed calls for action to address ongoing safety concerns along Highway 11-17.
Ontario’s Progressive Conservatives will huddle behind closed doors at a policy convention this weekend as some Tories question the party’s direction after nearly eight years in power.
The father of a three-year-old girl that was killed after being struck by a vehicle in Cambridge in mid-December says recent charges laid to the driver bring little comfort and relief.
The start of kindergarten can be a time of excitement or anxiety for parents, guardians and children — and also for Prince Edward Island's education officials as they try to staff schools appropriately.
Nunavut Nukkiksautiit Corporation (NNC)’s proposed hydro project is facing some backlash in Pangnirtung.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre will take to the stage Friday for what could be one of the most important speeches of his political career as he tries to convince delegates at the party's Calgary convention to keep him in the job.
As his flight departed from Amsterdam's Schiphol airport en route to Kuwait via Istanbul, Canadian crypto fugitive Andean Medjedovic was unaware that his globe-trotting lifestyle would soon be halted.
One of the largest taxi companies in Toronto will be down to three wheelchair-accessible cabs by the end of March, as advocates and providers say the city is failing to support accessible taxi drivers.
As a deep freeze continues to envelop southwestern Ontario at the same time municipalities deal with a pressing shortage of road salt, there's a renewed focus on finding different ways to melt road ice.
Dave Lawson is a proud Canadian who has bumper stickers that say "Canada is not for sale." He's fed up with grocery products plastered with maple leaves and patriotic logos that turn out to be American imports.
The Town of Badger has issued an evacuation order for some residents as water levels on the Exploits River continue to rise.
The head of a national seniors' advocacy organization says protecting nursing home residents from sexual abuse is an important but challenging issue.
New data shows Winnipeg's fire-paramedic service fielded hundreds of reports involving the city's homeless population, but one advocate says she expects that number to go down in light of the city's limits on where encampments can be.