How Bad Has The PNW Flooding Been?

[Deleted]

(The Guardian) Why is the flooding so bad?
The area has been drenched by unusually heavy rain – what one meteorologist has referred to as a “parade of storms” – since September. More rain fell in Bellingham in Washington State between Saturday and Monday than normally falls there during all of November.

The heavy rainfall is linked to an atmospheric river, a narrow corridor of concentrated moisture in the atmosphere. Hurricane scientist Jeff Masters has described the phenomenon as like “a river in the sky that acts like a pipe transporting huge amounts of water vapour out of the tropics”.

The flooding has been exacerbated by clearcut logging and its effect on slope stability, the rate at which water is absorbed into the ground and the ability to hold soil in root systems. Without trees, heavy rains can wash large amounts of sediment into nearby water systems, choking creeks and streams and causing them to quickly overflow.

The risk of landslides and debris flow has also been heightened by summer wildfires in the region. “There’s a very clear link between a wildfire happening and the risk of a landslide or debris flow,” Thomas Martin, a forester in the province, said on Tuesday. “If you burn a lot of the trees, grass and shrubs, there are fewer living things to intercept the water. It just flows directly off the hill. And fires can make the soil hydrophobic so the runoff increases even more.”
-Read more: www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/nov/17/pacific-north-west-flooding-british-columbia-washington-state-canada

[Deleted]

Cuz it rained a LOT?

[Deleted]

It was a torrential downpour for 3 days. Many towns are completely flooded and evacuated. Some are cut off completely. My brother lives in one such town.
Thousands of farm animals are dead, as well as bodies being found off the roads from the mud slides.
It is a state of emergency here. So ya "cuz it rained a lot".

[Deleted]

Nov 18, 2021 13:30:12 GMT -5 @fuzzems said:

Cuz it rained a LOT?

Well, that was a thoughtful answer, Fuzzems...

[Deleted]

Safe stay up there, Pomme, a'ight?

[Deleted]

Nov 18, 2021 14:18:03 GMT -5 @webster said:

Nov 18, 2021 13:30:12 GMT -5 @fuzzems said:

Cuz it rained a LOT?

Well, that was a thoughtful answer, Fuzzems...

I know right? apparently we just shoot off our mouths without research or thought nowadays.

[Deleted]

She was stuck for five days on top of her car

[Deleted]

Nov 18, 2021 14:18:35 GMT -5 @webster said:

Safe stay up there, Pomme, a'ight?

Thanks Webster.
I have been keeping in touch with my brother. His little town of Hope is still isolated. They have run out of food but the gov't has been helicoptering in food and medicine. He says it is surreal. Thousands of visitors are stranded there as well...wondering around.

[Deleted]

Well i just got the phone call i expected. A guy from work phoned telling me my crew is going to B.C. to help rebuild the tracks. It's voluntary so a couple aren't. It'll cost me lot of money since I'm not working and can't go. Unlimited overtime.

[Deleted]

(The Guardian) Biden comments on BC floods and mudslides
Joe Biden has commented on the floods and mudslides ravaging the Pacific north-west, saying minds are with the people affected in British Columbia.

More details to follow.

---

Joe Biden offered his sympathies to Canadians affected by this week’s floods and landslides during a press appearance with Justin Trudeau.

“I know we are both keeping our minds close to the families affected by the storms flooding the British Columbia area in the Pacific north-west, but one of the things we spent time on, on our global agenda, is climate change,” Biden said. “We’ve spent a lot of time dealing with [climate change] and we are on the same page as to the need for us to move on it, and get the rest of the world to move.”

Experts have linked the Pacific north-west flooding to the climate crisis. Scientists expect atmospheric rivers to form in more rapid succession, grow more intense, and become longer, wetter and wider as the climate warms.

[Deleted]

Blah blah

[Deleted]

Nov 18, 2021 16:50:38 GMT -5 @webster said:

(The Guardian) Biden comments on BC floods and mudslides
Joe Biden has commented on the floods and mudslides ravaging the Pacific north-west, saying minds are with the people affected in British Columbia.

More details to follow.

---

Joe Biden offered his sympathies to Canadians affected by this week’s floods and landslides during a press appearance with Justin Trudeau.

“I know we are both keeping our minds close to the families affected by the storms flooding the British Columbia area in the Pacific north-west, but one of the things we spent time on, on our global agenda, is climate change,” Biden said. “We’ve spent a lot of time dealing with [climate change] and we are on the same page as to the need for us to move on it, and get the rest of the world to move.”

Experts have linked the Pacific north-west flooding to the climate crisis. Scientists expect atmospheric rivers to form in more rapid succession, grow more intense, and become longer, wetter and wider as the climate warms.

Well that was nice of him! We have gotten use to being ignored lol

[Deleted]

Nov 18, 2021 17:00:41 GMT -5 @fuzzems said:

Blah blah

[John]

Nov 18, 2021 16:50:38 GMT -5 @webster said:

(The Guardian) Biden comments on BC floods and mudslides
Joe Biden has commented on the floods and mudslides ravaging the Pacific north-west, saying minds are with the people affected in British Columbia.

More details to follow.

---

Joe Biden offered his sympathies to Canadians affected by this week’s floods and landslides during a press appearance with Justin Trudeau.

“I know we are both keeping our minds close to the families affected by the storms flooding the British Columbia area in the Pacific north-west, but one of the things we spent time on, on our global agenda, is climate change,” Biden said. “We’ve spent a lot of time dealing with [climate change] and we are on the same page as to the need for us to move on it, and get the rest of the world to move.”

Experts have linked the Pacific north-west flooding to the climate crisis. Scientists expect atmospheric rivers to form in more rapid succession, grow more intense, and become longer, wetter and wider as the climate warms.

Whenever any natural disaster occurs, the liberals play politics and blame it on climate change.  That being said, what you said in the OP certainly could be a contributing factor to problems in Washington state.  I have no problem with logging, and we will always need wood products, but there could be some correlation between the way they went about their business, and the amount of damage.  I am not sure what the solution to that is.  It is kind of like the problem with wildfires.  Often times, refusal to allow old growth to be removed creates a situation where a fire will get out of control.  

[Springschick]

Stay safe, @pomme. Burn scar flooding is horrendous
.

[Deleted]

Nov 18, 2021 18:38:14 GMT -5 John said:

Nov 18, 2021 16:50:38 GMT -5 @webster said:

(The Guardian) Biden comments on BC floods and mudslides
Joe Biden has commented on the floods and mudslides ravaging the Pacific north-west, saying minds are with the people affected in British Columbia.

More details to follow.

---

Joe Biden offered his sympathies to Canadians affected by this week’s floods and landslides during a press appearance with Justin Trudeau.

“I know we are both keeping our minds close to the families affected by the storms flooding the British Columbia area in the Pacific north-west, but one of the things we spent time on, on our global agenda, is climate change,” Biden said. “We’ve spent a lot of time dealing with [climate change] and we are on the same page as to the need for us to move on it, and get the rest of the world to move.”

Experts have linked the Pacific north-west flooding to the climate crisis. Scientists expect atmospheric rivers to form in more rapid succession, grow more intense, and become longer, wetter and wider as the climate warms.

Whenever any natural disaster occurs, the liberals play politics and blame it on climate change.  That being said, what you said in the OP certainly could be a contributing factor to problems in Washington state.  I have no problem with logging, and we will always need wood products, but there could be some correlation between the way they went about their business, and the amount of damage.  I am not sure what the solution to that is.  It is kind of like the problem with wildfires.  Often times, refusal to allow old growth to be removed creates a situation where a fire will get out of control.  

There are many contributing factors. I can tell you that living here all my life I have noticed quite a difference in our summers. 

For example until recently nobody had A/C.  Now it is a must have.

[Deleted]

(The Guardian) Major highways reopen
Some major highways have reopened to limited traffic in British Columbia, but officials said the situation continues to remain critical.

Floods and mudslides have blocked key transportation routes, leaving thousands in the province stranded.

Public safety minister, Mike Farnworth, said at an afternoon news conference that the cost of repairing damage to roads, bridges and other infrastructure is “going to be substantial.” “It is far too early at this point to understand what the total damage is going to be,” he said. “The province has the fiscal capacity to be able to rebuild.”

Transportation Minister Rob Fleming said Highway 7, which connects Vancouver to the interior of the province, was reopened to alternating, single-lane traffic. Another major route is expected to be opened by the weekend while other highways could take months to repair.

Federal Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said talks were underway with Canadian and US border officials to reach an agreement that would allow cargo trucks to detour through border crossings to reach their destinations.

[John]

Nov 18, 2021 21:38:11 GMT -5 @webster said:

(The Guardian) Major highways reopen
Some major highways have reopened to limited traffic in British Columbia, but officials said the situation continues to remain critical.

Floods and mudslides have blocked key transportation routes, leaving thousands in the province stranded.

Public safety minister, Mike Farnworth, said at an afternoon news conference that the cost of repairing damage to roads, bridges and other infrastructure is “going to be substantial.” “It is far too early at this point to understand what the total damage is going to be,” he said. “The province has the fiscal capacity to be able to rebuild.”

Transportation Minister Rob Fleming said Highway 7, which connects Vancouver to the interior of the province, was reopened to alternating, single-lane traffic. Another major route is expected to be opened by the weekend while other highways could take months to repair.

Federal Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said talks were underway with Canadian and US border officials to reach an agreement that would allow cargo trucks to detour through border crossings to reach their destinations.

That is good, that they are going to allow trucks to go through border crossings.  They normally are not allowed to do that.  I know someone who was trying to go from New York state to Michigan, and someone at the store told him it would be shorter to cut across Canada.  He was licensed to run there, but regulations do not allow cut throughs like that, and he got held up for hours in Canada before he was finally allowed to return to the U.S.A. and go to his destination.