Another rainstorm expected to hit Canada's British Columbia
Darpan News Desk IANS, 22 Nov, 2021 01:10 PM
Ottawa, Nov 22 (IANS) A second "atmospheric river" rainstorm is expected to hit Canada's still-flooded province of British Columbia, according to Environment Canada.
The rainstorm will dump up to 100 millimetres of rain on some areas, and flash flooding and water pooling are possible, along with localized flooding in lower-lying areas, Xinhua news agency reported.
Environment Canada also warned of heavy snow in inland parts of the province on Sunday, saying that the snow could change to heavy rain as the temperature rises.
Some 20-30 centimetre snow has already fallen since Saturday and more snow is expected on Sunday before strong, warm winds from the south begin to melt that snow.
The British Columbia government called on its residents on Sunday to get prepared for heavy rain and strong winds.
The government declared a state of emergency last Wednesday due to floods and mudslides caused by the first "atmospheric river" rainstorm which lasted a few days. At least four people died in one of the multiple mudslides.
Atmospheric rivers are long, high plumes of moisture-laden air that can bring hours- or days-long rainfall of varying intensity to the west coast of North America.
There are 4,829 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 195,646 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 390 individuals are in hospital and 155 are in intensive care.
Bruce Ralston, the minister of energy, mines and low carbon innovation, says B.C.'s charger rebate program will receive $10 million as part of the budget this year to support installations of the charging stations.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says those groups and people who are most immunocompromised were vaccinated first and are getting to the point of waning immunity just ahead of flu season.
Michael Pickup says an audit of B.C.'s final budget accounting for the 2020-21 fiscal year under-reports revenues by $6 billion, which does not give a clear representation of the province's financial position.
Business and labour groups are urging the new federal cabinet to get to work on priority economic issues like the skilled labour shortage, supply chain issues, fixing employment insurance and ensuring an equitable recovery.
The agency says in a statement that time estimate is from a salvage master and team that were able to board the MV Zim Kingston Monday night. Danaos Shipping Co., the ship's owner, says it is co-operating with Canadian officials and has contracted a firefighting company to help fight the fires.
