Canada afflicted by flood and fire by Laura Gilchrist
Flood warnings have been issued for rivers in the Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Québec, while in between, the province of Alberta is being affected by wildfires.
The Yamaska River, in the eastern province of Québec, has broken its banks and prompted around 100 Cowansville residents to leave their homes. The river swelled after nine days of rainfall in a row, caused by a large stationary low pressure system sitting over the Great Lakes region. In the last 24 hours alone, 75 mm (3 in) of rain has fallen in the Cowansville area, and 200 more residents are preparing to leave as the Yamaska continues to rise.
On the western side of Canada, unseasonably high temperatures are to blame for inland flooding in British Columbia. The warm weather began on Monday, and through the week daytime temperatures recorded in the southern Canadian Rockies ranged between 25 and 28°C (77-82°F). This is some 10 degrees above average, and caused the mountains’ snow caps to start melting. The resulting water quickly swelled rivers, prompting officials in the district of Kootenay to issue a state of emergency.
Alberta’s border with British Columbia runs along the Rocky Mountains, but in Alberta the warm weather has exacerbated a different hazard. Wildfires have been burning in the western parts of central Alberta, destroying large areas of forest and threatening homes. One fire, around Burnstick Lake, burned for five days before it was brought under control. A fire near Whitecourt is currently burning out of control, and is believed to have destroyed 6 square miles (15 square km) of forest. A total of 15 fires are currently burning, and open fires have been banned in a large area of southwestern Alberta.
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