B.C. landslides: Focused travel restrictions expected in 'coming days,' deputy premier says

Vancouver -

An order limiting some non-essential travel in British Columbia as the province recovers from catastrophic flooding and landslides is expected in the coming days, according to the deputy premier.

Mike Farnworth said the government will be leveraging the special powers available under its province-wide state of emergency soon, and that will include focused travel restrictions.

The order won't look anything like the one implemented earlier this year in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which broadly limited travel between the province's health authority regions, Farnworth added.

Instead, it will apply to storm-affected highways and routes that are gradually reopened in a limited capacity.

"It's very much dependent on how roads are being cleared and being made available to reopen," Farnworth said. "It may be single-lane or alternating traffic, and obviously we want to ensure that the priority is for commercial vehicles, essential traffic – and so the restriction would be in place in those particular locations."

More details on the pending travel restrictions are expected to be released on Friday.

Other measures could be implemented under the emergency declaration as well, Farnworth said, including "possible orders to prevent hoarding, to prevent price-gouging, similar to what we had to do during the COVID-19 emergency."

Officials have already strongly discouraged non-essential travel through storm-impacted areas, as crews work to assess safety and clear rocks, trees and other debris from the roadways.

There are also ongoing efforts to locate vehicles and people missing since the landslides struck earlier this week.

RCMP spokesperson Dawn Roberts said there are now four missing person reports related to the massive mudslide that struck Highway 99 between Pemberton and Lillooet on Monday.

"At this time, the number of identified, extracted and confirmed fatalities remains at one – however, we do know that number is likely to rise once we reach some specific areas," Roberts said Thursday.

Authorities have asked anyone who believes a loved one may have been caught up in the monstrous storm, and who has been unable to make contact with them, to report them missing to their local police department or RCMP detachment.

Roberts said doing so will allow police to begin a "thorough investigation" into their whereabouts.