First responders and recovery crews continue to work around the clock as devastating floods, mudslides and strong winds have forced thousands from their homes in British Columbia.
In an update issued Wednesday by CTV News canada, the RCMP confirmed that the body of a woman was recovered from the scene of a mudslide along Highway 99 between Pemberton and Lillooet.
Police did not reveal the woman’s identity, and investigators said two other people have also been reported missing, but with so many people being rescued, officials do not know how many people are unaccounted for.
Additionally, cross-border flooding in the area between Vancouver, British Columbia, and Bellingham, Washington state, has also suffered severe flooding.
And back in Abbottsford, authorities are still working to extinguish the large fire that took place at an RV dealership earlier this morning, with around 100 RVs packed tightly together on fire.
There are reportedly about 40 firefighters battling the flames. According to The Guardian, authorities also said the fire is under high-voltage power lines, creating additional obstacles and danger.
The situation in Abbottsford is still dicey
On Tuesday, officials in the city of Abbotsford issued an urgent plea to anyone in the Sumas Prairie to evacuate immediately, as floodwaters threatened the Barrowtown Pump Station.
Officials said that if the pump fails, all the water within the Sumas Prairie will not be able to be pumped out and water from the Fraser River will begin entering.
The danger of catastrophic flooding in Abbotsford, B.C., is no longer at a critical level after 150 staff, volunteers and farmers worked overnight to build a sandbag dam to hold back rising waters coming in from across the U.S. border.
Abbotsford Mayor Henry Brau now says the Barrowtown Pump Station is currently operating at “full capacity,” adding that it is capable of pumping half a million gallons of water with all four pumps running at “full tilt.”
However, Braun said a “surge in water” from flooding of the Nooksak River in Washington state is putting additional pressure on the pump, adding that the pump was “never intended or designed to take on water from another country.”
