HEAVY RAIN has caused flooding in and around Stewart, closing off the tiny community from the rest of the region.
“Two municipal bridges have been damaged and are out of service. Highway 37A is closed due to flooding, erosion and landslides at the Bear Glacier,” reports Stewart chief administrative officer Peter Weeber.
No homes are in immediate danger but a number of commercial properties and District of Stewart infrastructure is at risk, he added.
There is no school today and two campgrounds have been evacuated with 30 people and 16 motorhomes now located in the centre of the community.
The Granduc Road is closed because of flooding and mudslides and it is not known yet if anyone is trapped on the other side of the slide area, said Weeber. An aerial patrol is planned for later today.
“Stewart commercial road and the dyke road is closed and there is less than one foot of freeboard on the south side of the dyke and zero freeboard on the north side of the dyke. Water is at road level,” Weeber reported early this morning.
Rain began falling yesterday and 50-plus millimetres is expected by later tonight.
The Stewart airport is closed, the District of Stewart’s emergency operations center is open and municipal crews are monitoring water levels and pumping stations.
“We have a great team in place and have been monitoring the situation closely. The damage so far has been limited to our industrial areas and transportation routes we will not know the true extent of the damage until later this morning,” said Stewart Mayor Angela Brand Danuser.
Heavy rains have also caused road closures and trouble elsewhere in the northwest.
The Nisga’a Highway from Greenville to Kincolith in the Nass Valley is closed, leaving Kincolith isolated from the rest of the valley.
That closure is due to a mud slide.
Highway 37 North is closed in both directions south of Bob Quinn Lake because of flooding and debris on the road. No detour is available.
And on Hwy16, traffic is reduced to single lane because of flooding 6km east of the Rainbow Pass.
