PREP Watch Vancouver, it's completely cut off

Gardener

Senior Member
From Peter at Bayou Renaissance Man
Watch Vancouver in Canada. It's now completely cut off from the rest of the country


For 'preppers' in particular, and for everybody in general, keep your eye on what happens in Vancouver, Canada over the next few days and weeks. A major storm has blocked or destroyed literally every transportation route leading into the city - by road, rail and even (for the moment) by air.


There is currently no way to drive between Vancouver and the rest of Canada.
The Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley are now completely cut off from the rest of British Columbia and the country by road.
The southbound lanes of the Coquihalla Highway have been completely washed out near Othello Tunnels.
Flooding and mudslides had closed most routes between the coast and BC Interior over the past 24 hours, but the back route through Whistler on Hwy 99 remained open this morning.
That changed shortly after 11 am, when DriveBC reported that a mudslide 42 kilometres south of Lillooet had shut down Hwy 99 as well.
The only way to drive between the coast and the rest of Canada at this time is through the United States.
However, Washington is also seeing highway closures due to the inclement weather and residents would need a COVID-19 test to re-enter Canada.

It's not just roads, either.



There are lots of reader comments about the situation over at the Canadian blog Small Dead Animals. Here's one:


I gotta stock up on food tomorrow because the island will run out in a few days here basically. Internet is down at the nearby stores so it’s cash only. The bank ATMs were closed too. Hopefully tomorrow internet is back!


Er . . . I think it's a wee bit late to start stocking up on food, because everyone else in and around Vancouver will be doing the same thing, and what supplies there are will vanish like snow on a hot rock! Also, one hopes the commenter had cash in reserve, because it sounds as if his credit cards won't help him much (and I doubt that stores will accept checks under such circumstances).
This is going to be a very practical test in how well a major city is prepared to survive a weather disaster. The photographs of the damaged roads and surface routes look very bad. Let's all watch how Canada copes, and learn, and update our own preparations accordingly. It might not be a bad idea to contribute to relief efforts there, either - this is going to take a while to sort out.
(A tip o' the hat to reader Joe L., who e-mailed me with the news of Vancouver's cut-off.)
Peter
 

fish hook

Deceased
From Peter at Bayou Renaissance Man
Watch Vancouver in Canada. It's now completely cut off from the rest of the country


For 'preppers' in particular, and for everybody in general, keep your eye on what happens in Vancouver, Canada over the next few days and weeks. A major storm has blocked or destroyed literally every transportation route leading into the city - by road, rail and even (for the moment) by air.




It's not just roads, either.



There are lots of reader comments about the situation over at the Canadian blog Small Dead Animals. Here's one:





Er . . . I think it's a wee bit late to start stocking up on food, because everyone else in and around Vancouver will be doing the same thing, and what supplies there are will vanish like snow on a hot rock! Also, one hopes the commenter had cash in reserve, because it sounds as if his credit cards won't help him much (and I doubt that stores will accept checks under such circumstances).
This is going to be a very practical test in how well a major city is prepared to survive a weather disaster. The photographs of the damaged roads and surface routes look very bad. Let's all watch how Canada copes, and learn, and update our own preparations accordingly. It might not be a bad idea to contribute to relief efforts there, either - this is going to take a while to sort out.
(A tip o' the hat to reader Joe L., who e-mailed me with the news of Vancouver's cut-off.)
Peter
The situation is very serious, and not funny at all, but i couldn't help but laugh out loud at the person that was going to go out tomorrow and buy supplies. These people have no clue.
 

night driver

ESFP adrift in INTJ sea
Peter is pretty careful about his facts.
He lead off with the various routes that have been destroyed.

sure, they have a harbor. IF the weather is still raging, THAT won't help much. Maybe in a day or 3 that could settle down. Hope based on that is pretty weak sauce, ESPECIALLY if the distribution channels don't go to the docks but DO go to the RRs and truck depots.
 

Millwright

Knuckle Dragger
_______________
Provincial posted Nov 15, 2021 @ 12:30pm by Josh Duncan
Vancouver is now completely cut off from the rest of Canada by road


There is currently no way to drive between Vancouver and the rest of Canada.

The Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley are now completely cut off from the rest of British Columbia and the country by road.

<who>Photo Credit: Linda Corscadden</who>The southbound lanes of the Coquihalla Highway have been completely washed out near Othello Tunnels.

Photo Credit: Linda Corscadden
The southbound lanes of the Coquihalla Highway have been completely washed out near Othello Tunnels.

Flooding and mudslides had closed most routes between the coast and BC Interior over the past 24 hours, but the back route through Whistler on Hwy 99 remained open this morning.
That changed shortly after 11 am, when DriveBC reported that a mudslide 42 kilometres south of Lillooet had shut down Hwy 99 as well.
The only way to drive between the coast and the rest of Canada at this time is through the United States.
However, Washington is also seeing highway closures due to the inclement weather and residents would need a COVID-19 test to re-enter Canada.


Here’s a full list of mainland BC highways currently closed:
  • Hwy 1 between Hope and Lytton
  • Hwy 1 between Lytton and Spences Bridge
  • Hwy 3 between Hope and Manning Park
  • Hwy 3 between Princeton and Keremeos
  • Hwy 3 near Fernie
  • Hwy 5 between Hope and Merritt
  • Hwy 7 on both sides of Agassiz
  • Hwy 7 between Maple Ridge and Mission
  • Hwy 11 between Mission and Abbotsford
  • Hwy 93 between Radium Hot Springs and the BC-Alberta border
  • Hwy 99 between Pemberton and Lillooet
 

night driver

ESFP adrift in INTJ sea
Well, THAT pretty much suques!! NOTHING like having a river decide to completely cut a new channel RIGHT NEXT to where you had a bridge.

I know a couple of Combat Engineers who MIGHT be able to drop a mobile bridge unit in there to open up at least THAT route, but there ARE issues there...
 

tanstaafl

Has No Life - Lives on TB
Seattle has "been there, done that" before and they didn't resort to cannibalism. Vancouver is a very easy jaunt up the Puget Sound from Seattle ... heck, they used to do the trip in canoes ... and you can apparently literally evacuate the city of Seattle with only the boats they have on hand. I suspect Vancouver has the same capacity.
 

night driver

ESFP adrift in INTJ sea
Both American and Canadian .mils have interesting mobile bridging capabilities where they drive this NEAT-looking unit up, spin it 90 degrees and install it in the gap from land to land over the gap. Yes, that was a SERIOUS under-explanation but it works to show concepts. They COULD clear the bridge issues by Fri or Sat or so if they absolutely had to. Or it could take months...
 

Mark D

Now running for Emperor.
For DECADES, we lived in a location that was regularly cut-off due to flooding (including bridges being undercut by the river); preparing for it wasn't rocket science... Can't say I have much sympathy for the soon-to-be cannibals.

And, to reinforce the notion: are you REALLY "cut-off" if you can still hike or boat out? No. You're just inconvenienced... Call me when your city is surrounded by snipers or zombies.
 

Laurane

Canadian Loonie
It is a mess!!!...... even the usual Road Closed near the Alberta border is in play too...... we were stuck in Alberta for 2 months longer than planned as the Passes were shut down for days on end with the snow, then the backups overnight, then the "we aren't sure when we will open one lane". My husband was on full oxygen and we couldn't afford any delays, but we were cosy at our kids' homes. The weather is always a problem in mountainous areas, but the problems with pipelines is real - it gets cold here in winters. No natural gas through pipelines?? Hydro electric is used mostly in BC and is cheaper.

Getting out to the store isn't usually a problem as roads get plowed within a couple of days, but businesses sometimes shut down and schools will if the buses can't run. Those on the Island should have stocked up especially as the storm was known, but there are always those last minute shoppers.

The BC Ferries to all the Islands, is also mandating vaccines and 1/4 or so of the employees are refusing to take the shots and that will strain the efficiency, as well as high seas messing with the schedules.

Crossing the border is a problem as you have may have to be vaxed going into Washington and Idaho - the rules will change at then end of the month for Canadians, so we won't even be able to travel out of the country, prisoners in our own land.
That is being fought in Court right now, and I think it won't stand. Many Snowbirds went down early so they didn't get caught in the rule change before Christmas.
 

KFhunter

Veteran Member
There was some confusion between Vancouver city, and Vancouver Island on the thread.

Vancouver city is on the mainland in Canada, right above Washington state north of Seattle. The largest border crossing is Blaine linking Vancouver and the US, they could divert shipping through there pretty easily, currently commercial traffic is largly unimpeded to and from US and Canada.

If they can't get a highway restored quickly I'd anticipate an effort to get supplies to Vancouver city via the US.
 

Hfcomms

EN66iq
We will see if Canada’s emergency management agency is any more competent than FEMA is. I’ve flown into the island by air before. Beautiful country and unless major damage should be able to get the airport open. Fuel might be a problem though.
 

KFhunter

Veteran Member
We will see if Canada’s emergency management agency is any more competent than FEMA is. I’ve flown into the island by air before. Beautiful country and unless major damage should be able to get the airport open. Fuel might be a problem though.


Just for clarification, this isn't the island being discussed here. Victoria is beautiful, I've been all over the island camping and fishing pre-covid.
 

Walrus

Veteran Member
Not in Canada, eh? As long as the beer holds out....
And remember Hockey Night! That along with the beer will alleviate much angst.

I notice on the NHL schedule that the Avalanche (ironically) are scheduled to be in Vancouver tomorrow night, followed by 'peg coming in later this week. If those games get postponed, there's liable to be serious backlash!

It's only peripherally relevant, but the old story in Canada is that doggie style was invented up there so Mom and Dad both could watch the game on Hockey Night.
 

Walrus

Veteran Member
If they can't get a highway restored quickly I'd anticipate an effort to get supplies to Vancouver city via the US.
Our Canadian brethren and sistern are intelligent and resourceful; they'll figure it out. Yeah, they're a little different in their thinking and all that, I know... but they'll get it done as long as their goofy PM doesn't try to fix it himself and only sends money.
 
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