Key takeaways:
- Since the storm arrived late on Sunday, thousands of people have been stranded.
- DC, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau vowed assistance and stated that troops would assist in the reconstruction.
Thousands of stranded individuals have been trapped since the storm hit overnight on Sunday, and the Canadian Armed Forces have been deployed to assist them.
During a visit to Washington, DC, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau vowed assistance and stated that troops would assist in the reconstruction.
A landslide killed one woman and left two more missings.
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Hundreds of people were ordered to flee their homes when an “atmospheric torrent” poured the region’s monthly rainfall average in less than 24 hours. A “tropospheric river” is a long swath of moist air that transports water from the tropics to the poles.
Officials have blamed climate change in the region for the natural calamity.
Although the influence of climate change on storm frequency is unknown, we know that rising sea surface temperatures warm the air above, making more energy available to generate hurricanes, cyclones, and typhoons. As a result, with more extreme rainfall, they are likely to be more intense.
Since the beginning of the industrial period, the planet has warmed by around 1.2 degrees Celsius, and temperatures will continue to rise unless governments worldwide drastically reduce emissions.
‘We must act immediately.’
In a news conference on Wednesday, British Columbia Premier John Horgan said the emergency order went into force at 12:00 a.m. local time (20:00 a.m. GMT).
Travel restrictions, he said, will keep people off flooded highways and guarantee that necessary products “go to the people who need them.”
“There isn’t a single individual who hasn’t been impacted or will be impacted by the events of this past weekend,” he said, adding that “these occurrences are becoming more frequent as a result of human-caused climate change.”
Mr Horgan stated that British Columbia must “bring the seven billion other souls on this planet to recognise that we need to act now… to safeguard us from these types of future calamities.”
According to Rachel White, an atmospheric scientist at the University of British Columbia, the storm’s tremendous devastation is likely due to a combination of human-caused variables.
“As the climate warms, severe rainfall events like these will become more intense,” she warned.
“More water is evaporated from the oceans as the atmosphere warms and the waters warm. Therefore, when we experience these atmospheric river episodes, the atmosphere may effectively convey additional water towards our mountains.” Rain forms as a result of this condensation.
Due to logging and wildfires, old-growth trees with deep roots have been eliminated, increasing the risk of landslides when it rains. Prof White added that human growth in flood plains and the use of non-absorbent asphalt increases the risk of flooding.
The severe weather in Canada comes only days after world leaders convened in Glasgow for the COP26 climate conference.
In the same location, British Columbia, a record-breaking heatwave killed more than 500 people and caused wildfires, one of which burned the community of Lytton.
Source: BCC News
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