Emergency crews in western Canada are still trying to reach some 18,000 people stranded by landslides. They are struggling to find food among bare grocery store shelves after devastating flooding.
With communities in the region braced for more torrential rain in already inundated areas next week , the premier of British Columbia province declared an emergency. It gave an emotional address in a press conference on Thursday. With a fight back tears, John Horgan said,
“The positive I’m going to take out of this is that it had shown British Columbians coming together supporting each other. Canadians are supporting our province that we are one big family and absolutely that to me is something that we all instinctively know it is absolutely just a remarkable feature and facet of our communities, our people, our province and our country.”
“This has been a terrible disaster but I know this: As British Columbians, as Canadians, we stick together. I want to come out of this. I’m going to build a stronger better province and a stronger and better country,” he added.
A spokesperson is confirmed dead in a landslide that swept vehicles off a road near the village of Pemberton. There are many others missing and with searchers still combing through the debris – that number is almost certain to rise.
Meanwhile, with major highways washed out across the south-western areas of the province, travelers have remained trapped for days.