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Collapsed roads and collapsing bridges are just a few of the devastations affecting the residents of the western state and may point to what climate change will bring in the future.
PRINCETON, British Columbia – With a light drizzle in the air, a young woman wipes her tears as she stands on the porch of a recently renovated gray and white house. Toilets and other plumbing fixtures sat next to her. Most of the other items in the house were in a muddy pile on the street.
Three doors down, a chain of soldiers in green camouflage piled sandbags on a rock-soil embankment intended to keep the Tulameen River away from the humble homes on Allison Avenue. The sound of a small excavator’s engine and reverse warning beeps filled the air as mud scraped wet mattresses, coffee tables, chairs, tools, and VHS tapes of children’s cartoons.
The torrential rains that caused flooding in Princeton and southern British Columbia were the third large-scale natural disaster this region of Canada has endured in six months – the possible cumulative effects of climate change, according to climate experts.
Record-breaking heatwaves, flooding and wildfires have killed hundreds of British Columbians and highlighted Canada’s vulnerability to extreme weather conditions. Each single event caused widespread destruction, but perhaps even deeper, according to the researchers, because they followed each other in that order, producing so-called “compound effects.”
Western Canada experienced a severe heatwave for much of the summer caused by record high temperatures. uncontrolled forest fires he burned a crowd to the ground.
Now, the area is faced with washed-out roads and highways, mud-clogged homes, and collapsed bridges after about a foot of rain poured from an air event known as an atmospheric river, long bands of water vapor that formed and drifted over the Pacific Ocean. to North America every fall and winter. Forecasts of heavier precipitation for this week renewed flood concerns and prompted a precautionary closure of newly opened highway roads.
“There have never been so many atmospheric rivers hitting the shore in such a short time,” said Rachel White, a professor at the University of British Columbia who studies how large-scale atmospheric models contribute to extreme weather conditions. “The dire possibility is that climate change is making these more likely and more frequent.”
Last week, Bonnie and Bryan Webber finished packing the last of their salvage items into a small van after floodwaters devastated their 700-square-foot home right next to the embankment in Princeton, a town of 2,800.
They bought their home 22 years ago and moved out of the Vancouver area soon after, when Mr. Webber retired from the city’s sewer and drainage division.
“I can’t believe it’s been 12 days already,” said Ms. Webber last Thursday, in a tone of surprise and exhaustion in her voice. “Everyone is now overwhelmed with emotions and trying physically. Everyone needs help.”
At least 12,000 British Colombians have been displaced by the flooding this week, with many without a clear return date. Some communities continued to be evacuated. Schools and a main rail route were closed. And large sections of highways critical to transporting goods from Vancouver to the rest of Canada have been closed due to landslides, flooding, flooding and collapsed bridges. Partial reopening of some highways is weeks away, and full restoration will take months, perhaps longer.
The cost remains anyone’s guess.
“It sure won’t be cheap,” said Ian Pilkington, the state’s chief highway engineer. “But even at this point, we’re still evaluating and trying to figure out what we need to do.”
For many people in the state, first and foremost, there is a nagging fear that the turbulence in the weather is a sign of what climate change will bring.
Sam Parara, a transit bus driver in Vancouver, had planned to start a new life in a Princeton home he had recently purchased and was renovating. Mr Parara said his state was concerned about the long-term effects of air disasters, as he was carrying a pile of objects covered with mud beyond identification on the sidewalk.
“I’ve been listening to David Suzuki talk about climate change for a long time,” he said. Canadian publisher, geneticist and environmentalist. “Suddenly, the climate is so unpredictable,” he said. “Maybe we should consider doing things differently.”
Experts aren’t clear on whether this year’s weather is a direct result of climate change. But many say they are confident that climate change is making the effects worse.
Drought, for example, has dehydrated vegetation, which has fueled and intensified fires. The fire itself can weaken or kill plants and make the soil less permeable, so rain is more likely to run off rather than get wet. This could create conditions for the dangerous landslides and mudslides seen in recent weeks.
While atmospheric rivers are the primary source of precipitation along the west coast, models suggest that atmospheric river storms will be strengthened and intensified by warmer air, which can hold more moisture.
Two weeks ago, a pair of atmospheric river storms occurred in succession in British Columbia. “These back-to-back storms are where we get the greatest impact,” said Marty Ralph, director of the Western Center for Weather and Water Extremes at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Dr. Ralph noted that the second storm has stopped and this could create longer rains in one place. These conditions were “a kind of trigger that pushed things to the edge of the abyss.”
Its destruction took many forms as water flowed down the slopes of the region’s mountains and then along the Fraser River towards Vancouver.
In the town of Merritt, a river poured into a sewage treatment plant, forcing all 5,300 people to evacuate. The flood opened a new path for the river through town, destroyed a bridge, swept a mobile home downstream, and partially submerged another while destroying parts of the drinking water system.
Much of the nearby Shackan First Nation’s farm land was consumed by a swollen river. Chief Arnold Lampreau said that not only is the road to the area lost, but the spring runoff could introduce new flood hazards.
The Trans Mountain pipeline connecting Alberta’s oil sands to refineries in Washington State and a port in the suburb of Vancouver several sections open or underwater. No leaks have been reported, but the pipeline operator has shut it down this week in hopes of at least partially reopening.
Highway engineer chief Mr Pilkington uses helicopters to transport equipment and workers to areas that need to be rebuilt, otherwise inaccessible.
Temporary repairs to some major highways could take until the new year to complete, he said. But long-term repairs will be guided by a new approach: climate forecasts rather than historical data to determine the height of bridges, the size of culverts, and the capacity of drainage systems.
“To realize that historical data is no longer relevant and you’ll be under design every time you rely on it – that’s an interesting thing engineers have to get their heads around,” he said.
Despite the demolitions, Princeton survived last week through clean-up efforts. Volunteers, often from nearby communities, walked around in white disposable clothing, helping residents lift water-filled tools, sewage-contaminated mud, and soggy drywall.
In the midst of the mess, a group of teachers drove into town each day to set up a table filled with trays of homemade sandwiches and baked goods, as well as large pots of soup, for the clean-up volunteers and residents.
“You wait and watch in the spring of the runoffs, but come on, it never happens in November,” said Denise Cook, who grew up at Princeton and returned as a volunteer. “I never thought it would be this bad. It’s bad. People sitting at home watching this have no idea.”
Vjosa Isai and Winston Choi-Schagrin contributed to the reporting.
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