Images and video of flooding, mudslides in B.C.

TORONTO —
An intense storm slamming the West Coast has left a trail of devastation and chaos in British Columbia, with flooding, mudslides and evacuation orders issued to try to ensure public safety.

The entire city of Merritt was evacuated by officials when floodwaters “inundated” bridges and shut down the local sewage treatment plant.

Torrential rain caused mudslides, flooding, and rockslides and forced highway closures between B.C.’s Lower Mainland and Southern Interior, with some homes in Merritt evacuated overnight. An expanded evacuation order was issued after 10 a.m. local time urging nearby Nicola Valley community members to leave the area.

Dozens of homes in the district of Okanagan-Similkameen were evacuated Sunday night, and landslides and flooding hit the city of Abbotsford, with several roads cut off as a result of the weather.

Thousands of residents on Vancouver Island and the southern Gulf Islands were without electricity Monday, with downed trees and flooding cutting off electricity.

Transportation has been stymied across parts of the provinces, with ferries and public transit routes cancelled and highways closed due to safety concerns around road and bank instability.

Photos and videos from across the province show the scale of the storm’s aftermath and the repercussions as rain continues to fall in some areas and evacuation orders continue to be issued.