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.
The Surrey Board of Education issued a news release Wednesday saying it would also be mandating masks for all students in the district, from kindergarten to Grade 12, starting Monday. The board said it is partnering with Fraser Health to consider hosting vaccine clinics to increase vaccination rates.
Singing and drumming were scheduled to ring out at 2:15 p.m. from Kamloops where the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc Nation announced in May that ground-penetrating radar had detected what are believed to be 215 unmarked graves at the site of one of the largest former residential schools.
There are 6,185 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 177,729 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 340 individuals are in hospital and 146 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.
Wilkinson is in Milan this week for meetings with his global counterparts to set the final agenda for negotiations that will take place at the full United Nations climate change meetings in Glasgow in early November.
Dr. Alika Lafontaine said if the province doesn't strengthen public health measures to extinguish a relentless fourth wave then the health-care system will burn to the ground.
This year almost 100 percent of the cases are of the Delta variant, so we haven’t been given a clear rationale as to why Kindergarten to Grade 3 students were excluded this year.
