In the middle of November 2021, British Columbia was overtaken by an atmospheric river of historic force, leaving one woman dead, others missing, and Vancouver severed from the rest of Canada by road. The land and water, overwhelmed beyond their capacity, refused to hold their shape — highways collapsed into mud, communities emptied, and hundreds of stranded travelers were lifted to safety by helicopter. It is a reminder that the infrastructure of modern life rests, always, on the patience of nature — and that patience has its limits.
B.C. mudslide kills woman, traps hundreds as historic floods isolate Vancouver
One woman confirmed dead in mudslide; at least two others missing; hundreds stranded on highways requiring helicopter rescue; mass evacuations ordered in Merritt and Abbotsford.
Search and rescue personnel continue working the site while the coroner's service conducts its investigation.
Mark
What does it mean that Vancouver is "cut off by road"? Isn't there always another way?
Mimi
Not really. The three main highways out of the city are closed. The southern route to the U.S. is technically open, but Washington is flooded too, and you'd need a COVID test to get back in. It's not just inconvenient—it's genuinely isolating.
Mark
So people are trapped in their cars on these highways?
Mimi
Were trapped. They've been airlifting people off Highway 7—275 people spent more than 17 hours stuck between mudslides before helicopters got to them. But yes, that's the reality when a mudslide blocks a highway in both directions.
Mark
The woman who died—do we know what happened to her?
Mimi
Not yet. She was found in the mudslide debris on Highway 99 near Lillooet. There are at least two others missing in the same area. The rescue teams are still digging, literally moving mountains of earth to find anyone else.
Mark
Is this kind of rainfall normal for November in B.C.?
Mimi
No. Some areas got 100 to 250 millimeters in 36 hours. That's a full month's worth of rain. An atmospheric river—basically a river of moisture from the Pacific—just parked itself over the province and wouldn't move.
Mark
What happens to the people who evacuated from Merritt and Abbotsford?
Mimi
They're gone, at least for now. Farmers are moving livestock. Families are packing whatever they can carry. There's no timeline for when they can go home because no one knows when the water will recede or if the roads will even be there when it does.
The Pulse
- An atmospheric river stalled over British Columbia and unleashed between 100 and 250 millimetres of rain in just 36 hours, shattering daily precipitation records at twenty locations across the province.
- A woman was killed and at least two others went missing when a massive mudslide buried Highway 99 near Lillooet, with rescue teams and search dogs now methodically dismantling tonnes of earth in hopes of finding survivors.
- Vancouver has been cut off from the rest of Canada by road — Highways 1, 7, and 99N all closed — while the Coquihala Highway and Canadian Pacific Rail's main Vancouver line have also been knocked out with no reopening timeline in sight.
- 275 people stranded on Highway 7 for more than 17 hours were airlifted to safety, while mass evacuations were ordered in Merritt and Abbotsford, and farmers raced to move livestock to higher ground as floodwaters continued to rise.
- With southern routes into Washington state also flooded and COVID-19 testing required for re-entry from the U.S., the options for leaving or reaching Vancouver have narrowed to almost nothing, leaving the region in a state of profound isolation.
In the middle of November 2021, British Columbia was overtaken by an atmospheric river of historic force, leaving one woman dead, others missing, and Vancouver severed from the rest of Canada by road. The land and water, overwhelmed beyond their capacity, refused to hold their shape — highways collapsed into mud, communities emptied, and hundreds of stranded travelers were lifted to safety by helicopter. It is a reminder that the infrastructure of modern life rests, always, on the patience of nature — and that patience has its limits.
A woman is dead, at least two others are missing, and Vancouver has been cut off from the rest of Canada by road — the consequence of an atmospheric river that settled over British Columbia on Sunday and refused to move. By the time the rain eased Monday afternoon, twenty locations had shattered their daily precipitation records, with some areas absorbing in 36 hours what would normally fall across an entire November. Wind gusts of 90 kilometres per hour compounded the destruction.
The deadliest single event occurred on Highway 99 near Lillooet, where a mudslide buried the road and claimed the life of one woman, whose body was recovered by RCMP. Staff Sergeant Janelle Shoihet confirmed reports of two additional missing persons and warned that other motorists may have been caught in the same debris field. On Tuesday, rescue teams with heavy machinery and search dogs began the slow, careful work of dismantling the slide — stopping to dig by hand whenever equipment or animals signalled a possible victim beneath the earth.
The scale of the disruption is immense. Highways 1, 7, and 99N are all closed. On Highway 7, 275 people were stranded in their vehicles for more than 17 hours before helicopters began airlifting them to safety. The mudslide on Highway 99N has blocked 44.6 kilometres of road — the northern corridor that normally connects the Lower Mainland to Kamloops and the Interior. The Coquihala Highway has suffered severe damage with no reopening timeline announced, and Canadian Pacific Rail has shut down its Vancouver main line entirely.
For those hoping to leave the city, options are vanishingly few. Washington state has closed several of its own highways due to flooding, and anyone re-entering Canada from the south must carry a negative COVID-19 test. Entire communities have been ordered to evacuate — all of Merritt, and parts of Abbotsford — while farmers worked together to move livestock to higher ground ahead of still-rising water.
As of Tuesday morning, no one could say when the roads might reopen. Rescue teams continue their search. Families wait for word of the missing. The province remains cut off, holding its breath while water recedes and earth slowly settles back into place.
A woman is dead. At least two others are missing. And as of Tuesday morning, Vancouver sits isolated from the rest of Canada by road—cut off not by choice but by water and earth that have simply refused to stay where they belong.
The catastrophe began Sunday when an atmospheric river—a weather system that funnels moisture from the Pacific like a fire hose—settled over British Columbia and refused to move. By the time the rain finally eased Monday afternoon, twenty locations across the province had shattered their daily precipitation records. Some areas received between 100 and 250 millimeters of rain in just 36 hours, an amount that normally falls across an entire month of November. The wind didn't help: gusts reached 90 kilometers per hour, battering a landscape already drowning.
The mudslide that killed the woman occurred on Highway 99 near Lillooet, about 120 kilometers northeast of Vancouver. RCMP recovered her body from the debris. Staff Sergeant Janelle Shoihet said investigators have received reports of two additional missing people, and cautioned that other motorists may have been buried in the same slide. Search and rescue personnel continue working the site while the coroner's service conducts its investigation. On Tuesday, rescue teams equipped with heavy machinery and search dogs began the grim work of dismantling massive mounds of earth and rock, stopping to dig by hand whenever equipment or animals indicated a possible victim.
The scale of the displacement is staggering. Three major highways—1, 7, and 99N—remain closed. On Highway 7 between Agassiz and the surrounding area, 275 people found themselves stranded in their vehicles for more than 17 hours before helicopters began airlifting them to safety Monday evening. Similar rescue operations are underway on Highway 1 between Sumas Way and Whatcom Road, where motorists remain trapped by floodwaters. The mudslide on Highway 99N has blocked the route for 44.6 kilometers, from nine kilometers north of Pemberton all the way to Lillooet—the northern gateway that usually connects the Lower Mainland to Kamloops and the rest of Canada through the Rockies.
For those desperate to leave Vancouver, the options have narrowed to almost nothing. The southern route to the United States remains theoretically open, but Washington state has also closed several highways due to flooding. Anyone attempting to re-enter Canada from the U.S. must carry a negative COVID-19 test. The Coquihala Highway, a major artery between the Lower Mainland and the Interior, has suffered severe mudslide damage with no reopening timeline announced. Canadian Pacific Rail has shut down its Vancouver main line entirely.
Meanwhile, entire communities are being emptied. Officials ordered all residents of Merritt to evacuate. Parts of Abbotsford received the same order. Residents scrambled to pack belongings and leave. Farmers worked together to move livestock to higher ground, racing against water that continues to rise in some areas. The Weather Network attributed the disaster to the atmospheric river system, which triggered multiple mudslides across several highways and bridges throughout the province.
Captain John Gormick of Vancouver's heavy urban search and rescue team described the painstaking work underway: when machinery or dogs indicate a possible victim, rescuers stop and switch to hand digging to confirm whether they've found someone alive or a recovery. It is slow, methodical work conducted under the weight of knowing that time matters, that every hour increases the likelihood that anyone still trapped has not survived.
As of Tuesday morning, no one could say when the major highways might reopen. The damage to critical infrastructure—roads, rail lines, bridges—appears extensive. What was once a straightforward drive from Vancouver to the rest of Canada has become impossible. The province remains cut off, waiting for water to recede and earth to stabilize, while rescue teams continue their search and families wait for word of the missing.
Notable Quotes
If a bit of machinery contacts a vehicle or the dogs indicate a person, that's when we stop and dig by hand until we find what they were indicating, to confirm whether it's a live victim or if it's a recovery.— Captain John Gormick, Vancouver's heavy urban search and rescue team
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