Close
The Free Press

ABOVE THE FOLD

 Subscribe

British Columbia flooding in photos

| Posted: 7:00 PM CST Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2021

VANCOUVER - British Columbia declared a state of emergency Wednesday following unprecedented flooding that has displaced residents, severed access to multiple highways and killed thousands of livestock while many more animals are in danger of dying.

Related Items

Click to Expand

Articles

Premier John Horgan said the declaration will help preserve basic access to services and supplies for communities across the province, which has experienced yet more weather-related havoc months after historic wildfires and a heat dome that claimed the lives of nearly 600 people.

Horgan said the government will introduce travel restrictions to ensure essential goods and medical and emergency services can reach communities.

He has also asked the federal government for help in responding to the disaster.

A boat speeds along a flooded highway 1 in Abbotsford, B.C., Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward (CP)
A boat speeds along a flooded highway 1 in Abbotsford, B.C., Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward (CP)
A woman and children who were stranded by high water due to flooding are rescued by a volunteer operating a boat in Abbotsford, B.C., on Tuesday, November 16, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck (CP)
A woman and children who were stranded by high water due to flooding are rescued by a volunteer operating a boat in Abbotsford, B.C., on Tuesday, November 16, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck (CP)
Recreational vehicles burn during a fire at a business surrounded by floodwaters in Abbotsford, B.C., on Wednesday, November 17, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck (CP)
Recreational vehicles burn during a fire at a business surrounded by floodwaters in Abbotsford, B.C., on Wednesday, November 17, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck (CP)
Abandoned transport trucks are seen on the Trans-Canada Highway in a flooded area of Abbotsford, B.C., on Tuesday. (DARRYL DYCK - THE CANADIAN PRESS)
Abandoned transport trucks are seen on the Trans-Canada Highway in a flooded area of Abbotsford, B.C., on Tuesday. (DARRYL DYCK - THE CANADIAN PRESS)
Parts of the Coquihalla Highway, also know as Highway 5, were washed away near Hope, B.C. as floods and mudslides closed highways throughout the area of Southern B.C. (- Jeremiah Steberl photo - Alison Hlatky/Facebook)
Parts of the Coquihalla Highway, also know as Highway 5, were washed away near Hope, B.C. as floods and mudslides closed highways throughout the area of Southern B.C. (- Jeremiah Steberl photo - Alison Hlatky/Facebook)
Properties inundated by flood waters are seen in Abbotsford, B.C., Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward (CP)
Properties inundated by flood waters are seen in Abbotsford, B.C., Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward (CP)
Flood waters cover highway 1 in Abbotsford, B.C., Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward (CP)
Flood waters cover highway 1 in Abbotsford, B.C., Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward (CP)
Rising flood waters are seen surrounding barns in Abbotsford, B.C., Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward (CP)
Rising flood waters are seen surrounding barns in Abbotsford, B.C., Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward (CP)
Rising flood waters surround a home in Chilliwack, B.C., Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward (CP)
Rising flood waters surround a home in Chilliwack, B.C., Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward (CP)
A barn and homes are surrounded by the rising flood waters in Abbotsford, B.C., Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward (CP)
A barn and homes are surrounded by the rising flood waters in Abbotsford, B.C., Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward (CP)
Flood waters cover highway 1 in Abbotsford, B.C., Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward (CP)
Flood waters cover highway 1 in Abbotsford, B.C., Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward (CP)
Emergency vehicles and tractors are seen at the base of a mudslide on Highway 7 west of Agassiz, B.C., Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
Emergency vehicles and tractors are seen at the base of a mudslide on Highway 7 west of Agassiz, B.C., Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
People who were stranded by high water due to flooding are rescued by a volunteer operating a boat in Abbotsford, B.C., on Tuesday, November 16, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
People who were stranded by high water due to flooding are rescued by a volunteer operating a boat in Abbotsford, B.C., on Tuesday, November 16, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Properties inundated by flood waters are seen in Abbotsford, B.C., Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. Farmers in B.C. are coming together to save livestock as parts of the Fraser Valley are under water due to devastating flooding says an association that represents the province's dairy farmers. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
Properties inundated by flood waters are seen in Abbotsford, B.C., Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. Farmers in B.C. are coming together to save livestock as parts of the Fraser Valley are under water due to devastating flooding says an association that represents the province's dairy farmers. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
A house on a farm is surrounded by floodwaters in Abbotsford, B.C., on Nov. 17, 2021. (DARRYL DYCK - THE CANADIAN PRESS)
A house on a farm is surrounded by floodwaters in Abbotsford, B.C., on Nov. 17, 2021. (DARRYL DYCK - THE CANADIAN PRESS)
Princeton, B.C. on Tuesday, amid the flooding (- Submitted)
Princeton, B.C. on Tuesday, amid the flooding (- Submitted)
A mudslide near Lillooet B.C. has swept away several cars. At this point, one woman's body has been recovered. (- Pemberton SAR/Twitter)
A mudslide near Lillooet B.C. has swept away several cars. At this point, one woman's body has been recovered. (- Pemberton SAR/Twitter)
An image of Merritt, B.C., which was evacuated in the wake of floods that have swamped parts of the region. (- Carly Isaac)
An image of Merritt, B.C., which was evacuated in the wake of floods that have swamped parts of the region. (- Carly Isaac)

The Winnipeg Free Press invites you to share your opinion on this story in a letter to the editor. A selection of letters to the editor are published daily.

To submit a letter:
• fill out the form on this page, or
• email letters@freepress.mb.ca, or
• mail Letters to the Editor, 1355 Mountain Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R2X 3B6.

Letters must include the writer’s full name, address, and a daytime phone number. Letters are edited for length and clarity.