FLOODS IN VANCOUVER

Chronicle (Levin), 3 December 1949, Page 5

FLOODS IN VANCOUVER

(N.Z.P.A.-

-Reuter.

Many People Forced To Eracnate Homes

Comjriaht )

Received Friday 8.5U p.m. VANCOUVER, Dee. 1. Floods threatened to isolate Van c-ouver tonight in the wake oi a nev\ storm that howled across Southern British. Cqlujnbia forcing scores of families to'evacuate their liomes. The floon pituation is described as eritical ii. Vancouver. Tlie storm, whieh is the seeond in fivt. days, wrecked bridges and flooded ri\ er.s, Army emergeney squads are help iug more than 1000 volunteer workei in the battle against the flooding Oapi lano and Seymour Rivers. PoJiee in West and North Vancouve said the flood situation was worse tha it was last weekend when 24 peop1 were killed and miliions of dollars' d;t mage done to coinmunieations, raihvayv^nd farmlands. The racing floodwaters today swep away the 100 foot emergeney Baile) bridge erected across the Capilano rive jnst flve minutes after the army bannec tratlie from crossing it. The collapse of the bridge, set up af t»*r the original span was smashed by last weekend 's storm, isolated Wes. Vancouver — a city of 13,000 residenD —from Vancouver proper. The washout of a sec-ond bridge wa: rcported on Vancouver Island at Cowi chan Lake where a bridge across a i-reek was destroyed only an hour afte it hal been rebuilt. The originall bridg' thc-re, too, was swept away in last weekend's storm. Fami lies are being evacuated tonight from the Seymour River area in North Vancouver while scores of other fami lies are preparing to evacuate along the Vmk of the Capilano River.