Lethal mix of cascading climate impacts Hammers BC

After a devastating wildfire season that burned cities to ash and a heat dome that killed hundreds, climate collapse again threatens British Columbia residents as torrential rains hit the province on Monday, causing landslides. and floods that destroyed key infrastructure and took at least one life.

The extreme weather was caused by an “atmospheric river” that carried water vapor from the tropics to British Columbia. The heavy downpour mixed with melting snow, causing flooding. While the full extent of the factors that allowed the emergency to develop is not yet known, wildfires are expected that burned healthy forests. contributed reducing vegetation that could absorb moisture.

“You can see in the Okanagan that the effects of the fire would create very permeable areas, and then there are other places where the ash has fallen,” said Mindy Brugman, a meteorologist at Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC).

The ash that is deposited on the forest floor can affect the watershed by affecting the amount of moisture that can evaporate. Wildfires also, of course, burn trees, which means that the roots do not absorb moisture as they used to.

Wildfires “change the hydrology of the whole network a little bit,” Brugman said.

Those tree roots also help reinforce the soil, and when damaged, landslides become more common. Landslides can dam rivers and exacerbate floods. In other words, what British Columbia is experiencing is a lethal mix of cascading climate impacts.

“We are on the verge of a large increase in these [storms]”Brugman said. “Some areas will get incredible amounts, particularly the Arctic and our west coast, but even more so if you look at the east coast like Halifax and even Ottawa,” he said.

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Brugman described an ECCC model based on 3 C warming that predicts an increase in the frequency and severity of storms, particularly in the Arctic, where loss of sea ice is expected to lead to unprecedented Category 5 storms by 2080. that could last more than a year. week.

“The same general rise in atmospheric temperature that allows extreme heat in the summer also creates the air’s ability to hold more water vapor leading to these types of destructive atmospheric rivers and heavy rain events,” said Cam Fenton of the group defense of the climate 350..

“Literally the same places have been affected … by these two extremes of the climate emergency,” he said. “This summer the road was closed, the flames leapt across the road and then [Monday], the rising water actually washed away and closed the road again. “

The Canadian Forces said National Observer of Canada that 311 people were rescued from vehicles on the highway Monday after being stranded by landslides. That rescue mission ends as the RCMP continues to search for people who still need help. As of Tuesday afternoon, the Forces confirmed that BC has not requested further assistance.

Thousands of people were evacuated from Merritt and Princeton on Monday when communities were submerged. Those communities are in the federal leadership of conservative environmental critic Dan Albas, who said the extensive damage was compounded by inadequate water and sewer infrastructure.

“What we are seeing here is that the extreme of the situation worsened due to the forest fire situation and has caused much of the damage that we have seen here,” said Albas.

Albas said the first priority is making sure everyone is safe and supporting the displaced, but the province must undergo a review of its emergency preparedness. In addition, Albas says that the province must lead in an emergency like this.

“One of the challenges is that you have a series of localized crises that are being managed by the municipalities; but the province needs to take the initiative, in my perspective, “he said.

“The province is the one with many emergency powers… it can request more assistance from the federal government. [Emergency Preparedness] Minister [Bill] Blair made it very clear to me that he has offered his full support and the province only has to ask for it.

“So the province needs to make an assessment of what is required and assume that leadership role that we know we need,” he said.

Albas also said that with key infrastructure damaged, problems related to supply chains will continue.

At a news conference Tuesday, British Columbia Minister of Public Safety Mike Farnworth said that after any extreme weather event, the province will conduct a review. When asked if the province should have taken more steps to warn people about the emergency, Farnworth said the alerts were carried out locally and there were many warnings “in the media.”

“What we saw was an absolutely unprecedented deluge like we’ve never seen before,” he said.

“Obviously after an event like this, the province evaluates what [happened] and lessons [are] learned for the future. “

NDP emergency preparedness critic Richard Cannings said the federal government should invest more money in its disaster mitigation and adaptation fund. That fund was launched in 2018 with an investment of $ 2 billion over 10 years. The 2021 budget added $ 1.375 billion over 12 years, with about 10 percent of that additional amount going to indigenous beneficiaries.

Cannings said there isn’t enough money on the table to help communities devastated by extreme weather, let alone help communities prepare.

“If you’re saying, ‘I want $ 20 million for [prepare] our community so it doesn’t flood, ‘you’re at the bottom of the pile when there’s a line in front of you of communities that are trying to rebuild, [and] they are obviously a higher priority, ”he said.

“So I think we have to really take climate adaptation seriously and give it the attention, and most importantly, the funding, that it needs.

“Let’s not wait for cities to be destroyed before giving them money,” he said.

John Woodside / Local Journalism Initiative / Canada National Observer