British Columbia Disaster

Not in Victoria but New Westminster (a suburb of Vancouver). A once in a 100 year storm and what a nightmare. I was out in it on Monday and literally could not walk. Sunny and calm yesterday and today but rain expected back tomorrow. I just got back from Nova Scotia. Think I'll go back.
 
DFJ said:
Not in Victoria but New Westminster (a suburb of Vancouver). A once in a 100 year storm and what a nightmare. I was out in it on Monday and literally could not walk. Sunny and calm yesterday and today but rain expected back tomorrow. I just got back from Nova Scotia. Think I'll go back.
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Yes come back!

Fall is the the best time in NS. :cheer2:

My heart goes out to all the people in BC affected by this.

(((Hugs to all)))
 
I live in Penticton now, which is close to Kelowna. I moved here from Vancouver (Surrey, more specially) a little over a month ago. My Surrey condo was out of power for a whole day, based on my FB group chat. If I was planning to see friends or family in Vancouver, there'd be no way, all the highways are closed. I have a few former co-workers who were stuck in their cars for 24 hours before shelter was provided. I went to a grocery store this morning, and there is NOTHING.

Weirdly, the hardest hit areas are about an hour where I live, but there's been barely any rain these days here in Penticton.

I know some FSUers who live in Abbotsford, I hope they are okay.
 
manhn said:
I live in Penticton now, which is close to Kelowna. I moved here from Vancouver (Surrey, more specially) a little over a month ago. My Surrey condo was out of power for a whole day, based on my FB group chat. If I was planning to see friends or family in Vancouver, there'd be no way, all the highways are closed. I have a few former co-workers who were stuck in their cars for 24 hours before shelter was provided. I went to a grocery store this morning, and there is NOTHING.

Weirdly, the hardest hit areas are about an hour where I live, but there's been barely any rain these days here in Penticton.

I know some FSUers who live in Abbotsford, I hope they are okay.
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When my sister first moved to B.C they initially lived in Kelowna. So beautiful. I can't imagine being terrified and stuck in your car for 24 hours.
 
There is a large part of Abbotsford that is completely flooded - south of Highway 1 (Trans Canada Highway) down to the US border crossing at Sumas, for those who know that region. This area was a lake up until the 1930s and it's completely flat. Also there is water coming over the US border because the Nooksack River in Washington State is overflowing its banks.

The Coquihalla Highway which goes east from Vancouver up to Kamloops has washed out in several places, as have the train tracks that run along the same route. There are also washouts on the "old" highway that runs north of the Fraser River. The only road route into Vancouver from the rest of Canada right now is by going into the US and driving north, although there is flooding in western Washington as well. The I5 highway that runs between Bellingham and Seattle was closed south of Bellingham last night.

Recovering from this is going to take a very long time.
 
overedge said:
There is a large part of Abbotsford that is completely flooded - south of Highway 1 (Trans Canada Highway) down to the US border crossing at Sumas, for those who know that region. This area was a lake up until the 1930s and it's completely flat. Also there is water coming over the US border because the Nooksack River in Washington State is overflowing its banks.

The Coquihalla Highway which goes east from Vancouver up to Kamloops has washed out in several places, as have the train tracks that run along the same route. There are also washouts on the "old" highway that runs north of the Fraser River. The only road route into Vancouver from the rest of Canada right now is by going into the US and driving north, although there is flooding in western Washington as well. The I5 highway that runs between Bellingham and Seattle was closed south of Bellingham last night.

Recovering from this is going to take a very long time.
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Hello climate change. ?
 
manhn said:
I live in Penticton now, which is close to Kelowna. I moved here from Vancouver (Surrey, more specially) a little over a month ago. My Surrey condo was out of power for a whole day, based on my FB group chat. If I was planning to see friends or family in Vancouver, there'd be no way, all the highways are closed. I have a few former co-workers who were stuck in their cars for 24 hours before shelter was provided. I went to a grocery store this morning, and there is NOTHING.

Weirdly, the hardest hit areas are about an hour where I live, but there's been barely any rain these days here in Penticton.

I know some FSUers who live in Abbotsford, I hope they are okay.
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Me too!
Ok falls technically
Next time skating goes to Kelowna we should meet
 
Here in Victoria we had heavy rain and wind but no serious damage.

However, the road to Sooke, were I have a holiday condo under renovation, was flooded and closed most of Monday. There was no way in or out. Power was cut off for most of the day and now seems to be intermittent. I have not attempted to visit the condo because the tile floor has yet to be installed.

One thing I have learned from this is to have a disaster kit on hand as well as a supply of food and water for 72 hours. Flashlights and a battery operated radio will be added. One thing we do have there already, a canoe!
 
I moved from Abbotsford to Surrey a few months ago - heartbreaking to see what's happening in my former home town. The main flooding is in farm areas - as someone else said, it was a lake that was drained in the 1920's and is kept dry by pumps. They were worried that the pumps would fail last night but people banded together and built a sandbag dam to protect them, so they are still working. Mother Nature is a powerful force - a good reminder to be ready for disasters ... which we clearly are not, since people are in panic mode and buying out the stores. But there's also a lot of people showing their best and looking after others.
 
We lost power here in Vancouver for about five hours on Monday. Otherwise we've been fine. Though supply shortages are certain to be expected - don't know what that will look like, have never experience such before.

For me, still a very freaky event. I've been on most of the roads that have been impacted/shut down.

A lot of farm animals have perished, apparently. :wuzrobbed
 
Climate Change=Death by a Thousand Cuts---a mudslide here, a flood there, a fire elsewhere, cities sinking and flooding, animals disappearing at alarming rates as the earth heats up, possible unknown contagion as permafrost in place for thousands of years melts...all ominous.
 
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JasperBoy said:
One thing I have learned from this is to have a disaster kit on hand as well as a supply of food and water for 72 hours. Flashlights and a battery operated radio will be added. One thing we do have there already, a canoe!
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If someone needs suggestions for food that still taste good even without power, I suggest applesauce, peanut butter, and tunafish. I always have a stock of those along with water.
 
Judy said:
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I find panic buying to be so strange. Do people not have food in their kitchen cupboards and in their freezers? I could go for weeks with what is on hand in my home.

And nobody in the greater Vancouver area has anything to worry about. We are right on the ocean with shipped goods coming to us on a daily, if not hourly, basis. It's a handful of cities in the interior of British Columbia which are cut off by highways being washed out that are of concern. And they are surrounded by all kinds of farms and orchards...so the food is there, just not maybe (over) packaged and sitting on store shelves.
 
PeterG said:
I find panic buying to be so strange. Do people not have food in their kitchen cupboards and in their freezers? I could go for weeks with what is on hand in my home.
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It depends on personal circumstances. I live in a NYC apartment with a very small kitchen; I don't have the space for a large supply of pantry goods. I have rice, tuna fish, and dried pastas as a rule, but not much more than that and not a lot of what I do have. My fridge is small and its freezer holds ice cubes and a few frozen vegetables; that's about it.

In addition, I come from a family that cooks from scratch; I go to the grocery store up the block from me for fresh fruits, vegetables, and protein sources every 3 to 4 days. I definitely couldn't survive for weeks on what I typically have available at home.
 
PeterG said:
I find panic buying to be so strange. Do people not have food in their kitchen cupboards and in their freezers? I could go for weeks with what is on hand in my home.

And nobody in the greater Vancouver area has anything to worry about. We are right on the ocean with shipped goods coming to us on a daily, if not hourly, basis. It's a handful of cities in the interior of British Columbia which are cut off by highways being washed out that are of concern. And they are surrounded by all kinds of farms and orchards...so the food is there, just not maybe (over) packaged and sitting on store shelves.
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Well I was likely the only person not to run out binging on toilet paper when the pandemic began. People panic. My first thought too was food and supplies with media reports. For people that have kids .. more than one person. But yes. Sheer panic.
 
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When it comes to panic buying I think of a western model: It is not like we have NOTHING in the house and must grab some chow. For me it is that nothing looks appealing and a winter storm is coming so let's go buy some junk.
 
wickedwitch said:
If someone needs suggestions for food that still taste good even without power, I suggest applesauce, peanut butter, and tunafish. I always have a stock of those along with water.
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I keep on hand tins of food that have peel-back lids. I have a small old fashioned can opener in my emergency backpack but have trouble using it because of arthritis.
Don't forget pet food and medications for your pets and yourself
 
PeterG said:
I find panic buying to be so strange. Do people not have food in their kitchen cupboards and in their freezers? I could go for weeks with what is on hand in my home.

And nobody in the greater Vancouver area has anything to worry about. We are right on the ocean with shipped goods coming to us on a daily, if not hourly, basis. It's a handful of cities in the interior of British Columbia which are cut off by highways being washed out that are of concern. And they are surrounded by all kinds of farms and orchards...so the food is there, just not maybe (over) packaged and sitting on store shelves.
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Big chunks of Alberta get their goods from BC though, including the company I work for so we’re not getting product to put on shelves right now. It’s not just that cities in the interior are cut off, shipping routes that effect a huge chunk of western Canada are also cut off.
 
JasperBoy said:
I keep on hand tins of food that have peel-back lids. I have a small old fashioned can opener in my emergency backpack but have trouble using it because of arthritis.
Don't forget pet food and medications for your pets and yourself
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I have a hand crank radio....I love that little thing. The last time a tornado hit near my house the power went off as it was approx. a mile away. I was cranking like crazy and holding my breath hoping the house would be ok. It was.
 
Jay42 said:
Big chunks of Alberta get their goods from BC though, including the company I work for so we’re not getting product to put on shelves right now. It’s not just that cities in the interior are cut off, shipping routes that effect a huge chunk of western Canada are also cut off.
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I don't disagree with what you have said, but:

1. If your kitchen and freezer already have food in it for a week, nobody needs to panic-buy (and if you don't have a week's worth of food, what planet are you visiting from?)
2. Alberta and the other prairie provinces can get food by truck or train from the U.S. or eastern Canada or maybe from a northern route...do ships deliver goods to Prince Rupert for everyone living in northern B.C. and the territories? Food can come from many directions, not just through the port of Vancouver
3. When I was a kid, we used to buy milk in a gigantic glass jar from a local dairy farm. Now that's probably not legal, it needs to be purchased by a corporation and processed and packaged. But food like this is available in each community...in times of crisis, the government should maybe relax the rules temporarily so people can consume local food.
4. There are many routes from Vancouver to Alberta, the ones without washed out roads should be restricted to transportation of food, not personal travel.
5. Some highways re-opened within a day or two of the storm, if only one lane for stranded people and for trucks. Food is coming if it hasn't already arrived. Panic buying just means you've overstocked your kitchen while others are possibly eating year-old crackers or that case of tomato soup every single day that they bought because it was on sale and realized they didn't like THAT much.
 
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