Search and rescue teams have evacuated 311 people, 26 dogs and one cat stranded between mudslides near Agassiz, B.C. after two days of torrential rain.
Royal Canadian Airforce Operations tweeted the update Tuesday morning, calling it a “job well done.”
In its own tweet, Canadian Armed Forces Operations described the rescue mission as a “herculean effort by all involved.”
Three helicopters and a transport utility aircraft were used to evacuate the stranded motorists and bring them to safety in Agassiz, a small community in the eastern Fraser Valley region.
“The landing zone was just being buffeted by winds,” said Capt. Jonathan Gormick of Canada Task Force 1 in an interview.
“We’d watch Cormorants come in and take five minutes to land and keep getting blown around, so extremely adverse conditions to work in.”
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On Monday, officials reported at least 275 people — including 50 children — had been trapped between two mudslides that closed Highway 7 between Agassiz and Hope, B.C.
Hundreds had slept in their vehicles overnight on Sunday as a historic atmospheric river drenched southern B.C., causing devastating floods, landslides and mudslides.
The Canadian Armed Forces and Canada Task Force 1, a highly-skilled urban search and rescue team, were called in to evacuate them, taking about 20 people at a time in helicopters.
“We’re grateful to our community who came together with food donations, with clothing donations, with offers of a place to stay,” District of Kent Mayor Sylvia Pranger as the rescue mission wrapped up.
The second phase of the search and rescue operation has now begun, according to a Canada Task Force update on Tuesday afternoon.
Crews remain on Highway 7, it said, to assess the scene before launching a search with heavy machinery, canine units and hand tools.
“Although the roadway has now been cleared of potentially trapped vehicles or people, the Task Force is now focused on the debris field between Highway 7 and the Fraser River, which is deep with debris and water,” said Gormick.
“There are currently no reports of missing vehicles, however a more thorough search with confirm the area is clear of victims.”
According to the B.C. Ministry of Transportation’s DriveBC, the highway remains closed in both directions in Kent due to the mudslide between Highlands Boulevard and Bodnar Road, and the second mudslide between the Johnson Slough Rest Area and Ross Road, east of Hope.
Late Tuesday night, a single lane on the highway, west of Agassiz, opened to emergency vehicles only.
The provincial government is asking all B.C. residents to avoid non-essential travel to evacuated areas as well as areas on alert.
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