Floods, mudslides close highways in B.C. Interior as heavy rain drenches province
Vancouver -
Following Monday's developing coverage of traffic impacts due to flooding here.
B.C.'s Ministry of Transportation says two highways connecting the Lower Mainland to the Interior were experiencing "multiple closures mudslides, rock debris and flooding" on Sunday.
The ministry's DriveBC service is recommending that people avoid unnecessary travel in the affected areas.
"Conditions are dynamic and crews (are) responding as safely and as quickly as possible," the agency said in a tweet.
As of 3:15 p.m., Highway 1 was closed in four different places in the Fraser Valley and along the Fraser Canyon, with mudslides, rockslides and flooding listed as the reasons for the closures.
The service also noted that this summer's devastating wildfire season had increased the risk of "sudden debris flows" in fire-affected areas between Spences Bridge and Lytton on Highway 1.
The Coquihalla Highway also saw significant fire damage over the summer, and was closed in both directions between exits 202 and 217 at the Zopkios Brake Check, about eight kilometres south of the Great Bear Snowshed, according to DriveBC.
Video shared with Castanet News shows muddy water and debris filling one set of lanes on Highway 5 and spilling over the concrete barrier into the other lanes.
The agency recommends using Highway 3 as an alternate route and says no estimated time of reopening is available for the Coquihalla.
Around 4 p.m., the ministry said Highway 5 would be closed through the night, with crews turning traffic around at exit 256.
Photos of the Highway 1 closure shared by Castanet show a large amount of water spilling across the highway just east of Popkum Road.
Even in places where the road wasn't closed, dash cam videos shared on social media showed travel was sometimes treacherous.
Much of the Lower Mainland and the Southern Interior is under rainfall warnings Sunday. In the Fraser Canyon, as much as 80 millimetres of rain was forecasted to fall, with Environment Canada warning that heavy downpours could "cause flash floods and water pooling on roads."
Between 60 and 90 millimetres of rain were forecasted for the Coquihalla Highway, with the potential for wet snow in the evening at the Coquihalla Summit.
The atmospheric river drenching the province is expected to continue until Monday afternoon, according to Environment Canada.
Sunday also saw the BC River Forecast Centre issue flood watches for the Fraser River and its tributaries in the Fraser Valley and Fraser Canyon regions and flood warnings for the Coquihalla, Tulameen and Coldwater rivers.
"Rivers have risen rapidly from rainfall since yesterday," the centre said in a statement.
"Additional rises are expected through Sunday in response to forecasted rainfall today, and ease on Monday as the heaviest rainfall passes. Current modelling is indicating the potential for flows in the 2-year to 5-year range."
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