Â鶹´«Ã½

Skip to main content

B.C. First Nations largely cut off due to flooding brace for more rain

Share
toronto -

Among those most vulnerable to extreme weather every year are First Nations, and the catastrophic flooding that has hit B.C. has impacted numerous communities, with nine First Nations currently under evacuation order.

Today, members of the Canadian Forces reached some of those isolated Indigenous communities.

Bill Blair, minister of Emergency Preparedness, said in a federal update on the situation on Sunday that the government has received briefings on the 41 First Nations that have been affected by the flooding.

Defence Minister Anita Anand said in the update that the CAF are helping to resupply communities.

“Canadian Armed Forces members have also completed resupply missions, delivering a total of 3,000 pounds of food to the Nooaitch First Nation communities near Merritt,†Anand said.

Record-setting rainfall washed away a road leading to Nooaitch First Nation earlier in the week, but crews have since reconstructed it.

In B.C.’s Fraser Canyon, the blue sky is expected to turn an ominous grey before the region is showered in rain again. The military is racing to fill bags of sand to help the Chawathil First Nation on the traditional land of the Stahlo people.

Chief Rhoda Peters told Â鶹´«Ã½ that she hasn’t seen anything like this in her 70 years of living in this area.

“Not being cut off like this, with all the highways closed, no,†she said.

The community of 600 was battered by last week’s deluge.

“It was very trying, and then surreal, to really realize what predicament we were in,†Peters said.

The community had no power, no internet, and no connection to the outside world.

“It was like a creek coming through here,†one community member told Â鶹´«Ã½. “It fills up over there first and then it just flows through like crazy.â€

The man had his septic tank burst and is still trying to clean up even as he braces for more terrible weather.

“Hoping the smell will go soon too,†he said.

With another storm threatening on the horizon, communities are clinging on to their land, hoping there is still a way to fight this worrying new reality.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

An Edmonton man says he was in the wrong place at the wrong time when he was injured by members of the Edmonton Police Service last year.

The brother of a 27-year-old man who was fatally shot in Scarborough over the weekend has been arrested and charged in connection with his death, say police.

The Royal Canadian Mint has introduced its latest Gold Maple Leaf bullion coin – made entirely from gold sourced from a single mine in northern Ontario

Local Spotlight

Cole Haas is more than just an avid fan of the F.W. Johnson Wildcats football team. He's a fixture on the sidelines, a source of encouragement, and a beloved member of the team.

Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.

An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.

They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.

Stay Connected