Large scale floods and fires have become an annual occurrence across the province and it's time to include mudslides.
Several slides of varying sizes this month have wrecked havoc on roadways across the province frustrating drivers and damaging roads.
photo Credit: Twitter – West Kootenay District.
Photo Credit: Ministry of Transportation.
The Ministry of Transportation is overseeing three large mudslide/washout recovery projects, two of which are in the Okanagan.
- Highway 3A beside Yellow Lake between Keremeos and Penticton
- Highway 3A near Brilliant, approximate 2km west of Castlegar
- Highway 33 approximately 22 km east of the Highway 33/97 Junction
Back to back years with unusually large snowpacks is likely causing the increasingly prevalent slides and the worst could still be coming.
Photo Credit: Drive BC Twitter.
According to the Ministry of Transportation, a phenomenon called freshet occurs when winter snow packs melt rapidly, overwhelming stream channels and creating floods.
Freshet generally occurs between April and July in B.C and will often destabilize soil and rock, causing mudslides, landslides and rock slides.
The Ministry is expecting more slide activity this year due to a longer than usual winter weather, the heavy snowfall and additional run-off.
For information on active provincial advisories and flood-related information, click here to visit EmergencyInfoBC.
