Canada: Record Floods and 4 Fatalities

Record floods in western Canada have left at least four people dead, with a fifth person still missing, according to local authorities announced on Saturday. Fuel access has been restricted in affected areas. Heavy rainfall in southwestern British Columbia on Sunday and Monday led to landslides and floods that destroyed roads and infrastructure. The crucial "Trans Mountain" pipeline for the oil industry in Alberta was temporarily closed. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police confirmed on Saturday the discovery of the bodies of three men who had been missing since Monday near Duffy Lake. Security official Janiel Schwiet stated in a press release that the search for a fourth man continued, but weather conditions made their efforts difficult. With these three deaths, the total number of fatalities due to the flooding rises to four. A woman's body was found on Monday near landslides that had swept away a large portion of a highway. British Columbia authorities announced that the highway connecting Vancouver with isolated areas in the northern part of the province was reopened to "essential traffic only" on Saturday. Authorities had imposed a maximum limit of 30 liters of fuel per visit to the pump on Friday, in an effort to alleviate supply chain disruptions caused by this extreme weather event. Provincial Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth estimated at a press conference on Saturday that these measures could last for "ten days" and urged residents to limit their travel to conserve gasoline. This region on the Pacific coast has experienced repeated natural disasters in recent months, starting with an extremely intense heatwave at the end of June attributed to climate change, followed by large wildfires.