I don't even know where to begin this week. My heart is aching for those who have lost their livelihoods, homes, animals, and possibly lives. For Future Renee's sake...here is a present Renee disorganized brain dump.
This past weekend, BC experienced a dramatic storm that brought an entire November's worth of rain in a span of 24 hours. This was followed by a wind storm that took down trees and knocked out power for many. Due to this intense rain, there was devastating flooding throughout the province. The entire town of Merritt was under water and evacuated (7000 residents) because their sewer system failed and it was a hazard to be there aside from the flooding. People were doing everything they could to save their livestock and belongings. There were videos of mobile homes being washed away down the river. I still can't believe this.
Also due to this rain, plus an increased snow melt due to rising freezing levels, the Fraser River and Nooksack River (in Washington) rose dramatically. This caused roads to be washed out (like the Coquihala), flood plain infrastructure to fail, land slides, and absolute chaos. People were trapped in their vehicles for 24-48 hours in some cases due to slides, and trapped in cities that were not their home, with no way to get home. Roads were closed and suddenly the lower mainland was completely cut off from the rest of the country. Nobody in. Nobody out. There were (are... this is still happening) two slides on Hwy 1 between Chilliwack and Hope, two just west of Agassiz, one between Hope and Agassiz, one on Highway 3, two between Pemberton and Lillouette and some smaller ones as well. As I mentioned above, huge portions of the Coq were washed away completely, and same with parts of Hwy 1 between Hope and Lytton area. This is detrimental. This will take months to repair.
ALSO (not last, and definitely not least) due to this incredible weather event, the entire Sumas Prairie in Abbotsford/Chilliwack is flooded. Like properly flooded. All residences, businesses and farms have been evacuated with the exception of a few who are attempting to save their farms and animals. Communities came together to rescue livestock, and many thousands were saved, but thousands have also died. Farmers are trapped in their flooded barns with their deceased animals around them. I can't... As I'm typing this I get a notification on my phone "Abbotsford poultry farmer forced to leave thousands of chickens to die in the floods."
The big storm was Saturday-Monday, and Monday evening there was an emergency alert that went out ordering everyone in the Sumas Prairie to evacuate immediately. Most had been evacuated already, but there were new areas that were set to be impacted. Due to the flooding in the area and the Nooksack River pushing water north, the Barrowtown Pump station that normally pumps water out of the Sumas Prairie into the Fraser was set to fail. They warned that in 7 hours the pump would fail, and when it did, the Fraser River would start filling the area and it would be catastrophic. People were frantically trying to escape, and many had to be air-lifted off their roofs and properties. *cue Renee googling whether it's "roofs" or "rooves"*.
In the Mommy Musings group on Facebook, women are banding together to provide support for each other. There are women and children who are homeless with nowhere to go. There are many many families trapped between slides and running out of food and water. People were paying thousands of dollars after the weather cleared to get private flights out of Hope and into the Lower Mainland. Between the slides on the roads, the military and SAR were air lifting groups of people out as well, many into Agassiz. Great. They're in Agassiz or Chilliwack. Now what?! The highway is closed between McCallum and Yale. Well technically there is no highway because it's underwater... People are still trapped with nowhere to go. There are of course evacuation centres, but I can't help feeling helpless in all of this. Many peoples' lives have changed forever; they've lost everything. Speaking of evacuation centres, we're also still in the COVID 19 pandemic... Now there are people from all different walks of life and vaccination statuses and ages and with all different health conditions piled indoors with each other. I pray nobody becomes ill with COVID (or anything) because of the mandatory evacuations.
At this point (Thursday afternoon), the pump at Barrowtown is still operating at full capacity and the water levels have dipped in the Fraser thanks to a couple days of clear weather. The situation is far from over though. The Nooksack River continues to push water into the region, and there is more rain in the forecast. It's coming in faster than the pump can pump it out. If and when the water stops flowing in, it will still take weeks to pump the water out of the Sumas Prairie and back into the Fraser. People have been displaced for long periods of time here.
Also Also... We were watching the news yesterday morning and there was a huge fire in Abbotsford just after Whatcom exit. An RV rental storage lot caught fire and hundreds of RV's and pick up trucks were burned. What the heck. Who ordered this apocalypse?
Also also also... many communities like Kamloops, Hope, and Chilliwack are experiencing food hoarding/panic-buying and therefore empty shelves and food shortages. It's happening here too because people are worried about the supply chain being separated from the rest of Canada. In reality, there is plenty of food and it will get to us; people just need to not hoard!
Water has been shut off to the Sumas area, so even for those who have stayed behind for their animals, they don't have any water for them, and all the feed has been destroyed. My brain tends to catastrophize things, and anticipate the worst, but it causes even more anxiety when the catastrophes actually start/keep happening. I obsessively watch the news and check for updates. I have a need to obtain all the information I possibly can. It reminded me of the very early days of COVID - the daily briefings, all the uncertainty and stress, etc.
I'm sure there's more I'm not thinking of - this is just a brain dump of the things that have been piled into my head the last few days, I'm not googling facts as I go.
So far there has been one human life lost, in one of the slides up past Pemberton. There are many more vehicles that were taken down, and people reported missing though, so we anticipate more reports of fatalities.
What. The. Heck. is going on with this last year and a half.
COVID - global pandemic
Heat dome - 50 degrees C in BC and hundreds of lives lost due to the heat
Fires - Entire town of Lytton destroyed, and many other homes and recreational properties around the province
Bomb Cyclone
Tornado in Vancouver
This.
I am realizing now how ill prepared we are in case of some disaster. Seeing and hearing about all these families stuck in their cars for days while just heading back from a trip to the interior, or in our case potentially a trip to Agassiz, has made me realize how fragile situations are and how we need to be prepared. My parents were in Osoyoos and were supposed to come home on Sunday. Mom was feeling antsy about the weather warnings and travelling in the snow, and they decided to come home a day early. Thank goodness they did or they very well could have been trapped in the interior, Hope, on the freeway, etc. That's the best case scenario.
We are working on putting together an emergency kit for the van with first aid kit, blankets, food, lights, etc. etc. and one for the house that includes all those things plus paperwork etc.
My main "concern" where we are is that there will be some great disaster and we will be without power and water. I am more anxious now for the winter than I ever have been. The way things are going, there will probably be some insane blizzard that traps us in our homes and knocks out power while it's -20 outside or something. I mean why not... That's what I'm going to prepare for.
I've started copying and putting together our paperwork, ordered a couple cans of food, ordering first aid kits and some other supplies, set our emergency contacts and going to set up our emergency plan, etc. Hello wake up call.
Something I learned this week that has given me some sort of feelings, is that Sumas Prairie used to be Sumas Lake. (This next section is from my memory of my research the last few days, I apologize if there are factual errors - here's a web article with more info: https://fvcurrent.com/article/sumas-lake-flooding-history/).
The lake was formed 8,000 years ago at the end of the last ice age (accidentally capitalized Ice Age like the movie the first time). Around 400 BC, Indigenous communities formed there and relied on it for their way of life. It was filled with all sorts of fish, sturgeon, and bird colonies. It would flood every spring and fall, and create breeding grounds for mosquitoes. The mosquitos were so bad, the Indigenous Peoples built homes on stilts in the middle of the lake they would retreat to during those seasons. Mosquitoes apparently won't fly over bodies of water.
Early 1900's, enter Europeans. The area surrounding Sumas Lake was excellent for farming, and there were European settlements formed in the area. The Europeans became frustrated with the flooding damaging their crops and breeding mosquitoes. (Apparently they were so bad that schools had to be shut down, kids had to stay indoors for up to 6 weeks, and many young livestock would die from blood loss).
There was a pump and a variety of channels and dikes built to pump water out of the lake and into the Fraser River. The land left from the lake became some of the most fertile farming land in the country. Throughout the next few decades, there were upgrades to infrastructure, the new Barrowtown pump built, and though the area was prone to flooding, it remained this farmland. There were a few major and devastating floods throughout the last 40 years, but that's to be expected when you're on a flood plain. This latest flood probably hits different for a variety of reasons:
1. There is so much more built there now - more residences, more farms, more businesses, etc.
2. There is a lot of frustration around the government's response (or lack of) to the crisis and the many calls for improvements to infrastructure the last couple decades.
3. Social Media makes it much easier for people to share information and pictures. Everyone is privy to the nitty gritty instead of just those directly affected. We get to see real life instead of just what the media chooses to show us.
4. For Canada/Canadians, this has been a year of work towards Truth and Reconciliation with Indigenous People, so now learning that this land was taken from them and turned into farms to benefit the settlers it just feels gross. It feels like the Earth is trying to take itself back if that makes sense. Maybe that's just me.
Anyway... that sort of sums most of it up I think... It's such a fluid situation (I love when they describe a flood as a fluid situation), that I can't possibly share it all or keep it updated, but wow. What a week. It's far from over. There is more heavy rain expected on Tuesday
All this to say... I am thankful for...
1. I am safe and my family is safe.
2. Nostalgia with Opa & Oma. We went to my Mom & Dad's for dinner this week and there was just a lot of strange nostalgia for me for some reason. Marble works, dancing, the puppy toys, etc.
3. Myyyyy NEW VACUUM CLEANER! I got a cordless vacuum this week. It's already been a game changer. We have a built-in vacuum, but I'm pretty sure the canister is 13 years old and it sucks (or doesn't suck). It's heavy and bulky and frankly I don't vacuum nearly as much as I need to. Now I can carry the vacuum upstairs with one hand, do the stairs with ease, and the new one has much better suction so Eva can actually play on the floor without being covered in dog hair! Merry Christmas me :)
Bissell IconPet cordless vacuum cleaner. It was on sale :) It was GoCleanCo's #1 when they rated cordless vacuums!
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