Floods and forest fires are now normal life in the small town of Canada | Flood

Wwhen the floods swept the highways in and out of Tricia Thorpe’s small town in the Canadian province of British Columbia, there was no way in or out for several days. For a while, it looked like the road out of her property would be destroyed as well.

“My oldest daughter thought I would turn out when there was no road access out,” said Thorpe, who lives in the small community of Lytton in Canada’s mountainous west, nearly 185 miles (300 km) northeast of Vancouver by road.

“But we’ve been through so much now that you’re sometimes a little numb about what’s going to happen next.”

She had good reason to be emotional – the devastating floods arrived just four months after much of her city burned to the ground during one of the worst wildfire seasons in the province’s history. Her own home and farm were completely destroyed in the July fire. Thorpe spent weeks in a shelter and came back to discover that the remains of some of the animals that had been burned to death in the fire were still on the property.

Tricia Thorpe and her husband, Don Glasgow, after rescuing four of their puppies from the Lytton fires. Photo: Tricia Thorpe / Don Glasgow

Thorpe is just one of hundreds of thousands of people in western Canada who are getting used to catastrophic natural disasters in both the summer and winter seasons, as the effects of climate change lead to “once in a hundred years” events that hit hard . more often.

Three of British Columbia’s worst wildfires have occurred in the last four years, and the widespread floods and mudslides last week occurred after about a month of rain fell in a matter of days, leading to landslides tearing highways and homes apart.

At least four people have been killed and about 18,000 people stranded after all major highways connecting Vancouver with the rest of the country were blocked by broken bridges and dangerous roller coasters in places.

After all the devastation in recent years, Thorpe was ready to take care of himself. She had extra food, water, and gas to sit in for several days, and she considered herself lucky that her new home was not one of many that were damaged or completely destroyed during the floods.

“We were cut off from the rest of the world,” Thorpe said.

18,000 people stranded after floods and landslides in British Columbia – video

Others in the mountain towns of the region were even less fortunate. About 30 miles to the east, the town of Merritt faced severe flooding as the river flowing through the community flooded and swept through entire streets and homes.

City Councilman Mike Bhangu said the river appeared to have cut a new path through the city, creating an isolated island where some houses and farmland used to be. He said the force of the water was serious enough that it was just a matter of letting the new course of the river continue and building around the change.

The town of 7,000 people remains under an evacuation order after the floods caused its water treatment systems to fail, and the local government has warned residents not to drink tap water even if they boil it first.

While Merritt did not experience flames during the summer fires, Bhangu said his residents suffered from the thick smoke that covered the sky and extreme heat that reached 44.5 C at the height of a summer heat wave. There were tense times when the city was put on evacuation and people were worried they might lose their homes to the fires.

The floods came as many in the city were still struggling with the emotional consequences of the summer flames.

“I do not think we have had the opportunity to deal with the fire season,” said Bhangu, who has now himself been evacuated to a nearby town after floodwaters were swept through his town. “It takes some time after an event to understand what you have just been through, and people did not have the opportunity to do so. It’s emotional, it’s stressful. ”

The effect of the heavy rain has been widespread. Vancouver, located in a valley that runs into mountainous terrain, has actually been cut off from the rest of Canada, with road access only possible by a detour through the United States. Local media have reported panic purchases that have left production lanes empty, and the provincial government is restricting gas sales in regions close to the roller coasters after a gas pipeline was damaged in the storm.

Nienke Klaver and Edward Staples, who live near the city of Princeton in British Columbia, were also cut off when the city flooded and highways were blocked by landslides. Their home escaped the flood because it is on higher ground, but they are preparing for weeks to help their friends who were less fortunate.

The remains of a home and vehicles destroyed by White Rock Lake wildfire on the west side of Okanagan Lake, north of Kelowna, British Columbia in August. Photo: Canadian Press / Rex / Shutterstock

After a summer of staying indoors to protect his lungs from thick smoke, Staples said he’s sad to see the loss in his community so soon after the fires. “It’s heartbreaking, I get suffocated thinking about it,” Staples said. “These are real people who have lost everything and it will take months or years to get their lives in order.”

Staples and others expressed a sense of willingness to rebuild society in a way that better protects itself from more frequent natural disasters.

Back in Lytton, Thorpe said the sense of community was what made her want to stay in the city despite the horrific events of the past year. Community volunteers had come together to clean up her property and build a new house in the wake of the summer fires, and she said the community will also get through these floods.

“People have been so resilient. This is where we belong, they are family,” Thorpe said.