Wild Weather

For the last month or so we have done a lot of complaining about the rain… but this week it has hit whole new levels of bad. In downtown Vancouver, we actually didn’t notice much difference compared to the usual downpours. However, places further north and east of us saw rainfall that exceeded the monthly average in just two days.

This deluge has caused massive flooding and widespread destruction across southern BC. The situation is partly thanks to the wildfires this summer, which were also far worse than normal. The fires left behind a water repellant crust on the soil which stops it from absorbing water and increases the likelihood of landslides.

Thousands of people had been evacuated from several towns, some just in time as the swelling river washed away their homes and everything they own. In Abbotsford, about 40 mins drive from Vancouver, farmers have had to abandon their land and livestock, now underwater. The death toll for farm animals is estimated to be in the thousands, but only one human death has been reported so far (this will likely rise as clean-up operations commence).

All of the major highways connecting the greater Vancouver area to the rest of the province have been closed due to flooding, mudslides or sections being completed washed away. Earlier in the week, 275 people had to be rescued by helicopter after being trapped in their cars overnight between two mudslides on one of the highways. There is concern about food shortages in some areas which have been totally cut off from their usual supply networks.

So far, the only negative effect to us personally is that a trip to Sun Peaks (the ski resort we stayed in last year) which we had planned for 2 weeks time might have to be cancelled. The picture above is the road we should have been driving on… There are other routes that may be opened by then (they are all currently closed), but they are likely to be reserved for essential travel only.

There has been one positive effect to us personally (and pretty selfishly)… The storm on Monday brought extremely high winds to the coast. It was fun to watch, if you could shield your eyes from the highspeed airborne leaves and other debris. It blew a huge barge from its anchorage and pushed it perilously close to a major bridge near our apartment. It was pretty dangerous as it was obviously completely uncontrollable, but made for a great spectacle from the shore. Luckily it ended up running aground on the beach, where it has been stuck all week like some apocalyptic art installation. It’s the most exciting thing to happen in Vancouver since we’ve been here!

On Tuesday, we went down to the beach at high tide to watch the owners attempt to move the barge with one tiny tug boat. Unfortunately, the water levels were nowhere near as high as they were when the barge arrived, so it is totally grounded and did not budge. The tide will be higher on Sunday morning, so we will make sure to get up early to watch their second attempt then!

Bargegate is definitely the highlight of our week. The Canadian football (apparently it is different to American football) that we saw on Friday was pretty boring and the only other thing we’ve been doing is practising our ice skating. Ollie can sort-of go backwards now, very slowly… There seems to be some respite from the rain this weekend, so perhaps we will be able to go outside and do something interesting.