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Weather Advisory: Flooding in British Columbia

Pooling Water and Road Closures to Continue as Evacuations Are Underway

Update as of Monday, November 29 at 1:00 p.m. CST

A third atmospheric river in the past week is set to hit the province of British Columbia, Canada.

The region, already beset by flooding due to heavy rains throughout the month of November, is once again under high streamflow advisories, flood watches and flood warnings.

Heavy rains are expected to begin Monday and continue through Wednesday across the province.

Environment Canada has issued an official statement warning of flooding, water pooling on roads and snow melt — all potentially accompanied by winds of up to 60 km/h — in the following areas:

  • Metro Vancouver
  • Howe Sound
  • Whistler
  • Sunshine Coast
  • Abbotsford
  • Chilliwack
  • Hope

 

Resources to Stay Up to Date

 

Navigating the Highway Closures

If you have the ability to delay your shipping schedule into or out of British Columbia, we suggest you do that for the safety of the driver community.

However, if you absolutely must ship, you will have to route your freight through the United States with carriers that are US bonded.  You can expect delays even if you go that route due to the congestion at the border and on the highways in which traffic is being re-routed.

Capacity across all of Canada is being impacted as both carriers and customers networks work to overcome these challenges.

 

Potential Shipping Complications Due to Flood Conditions

Flooding throughout the region may result in road closures, extending transit times.

Environment Canada warns that the Coquihalla Highway — already damaged in sections from previous storms — will face up to 70 mm of rain, particularly impacting western and upslope sections of the road.

The port of Vancouver and facilities throughout the province may be experiencing a backlog as freight is unable to be moved due to infrastructure damage.

This could disrupt sales and supply chain movement if shippers outside the impacted areas have excess product with nowhere to send it.

Transportation providers may struggle to meet demand due to unavailable equipment, drivers and/or lanes.

And if the affected areas gets hit badly, demand for disaster relief freight may spike.

 

Severe Weather Best Practices

These are general guidelines to keep in mind whenever storms strike the nation's supply chain.

  • Confirm your customers and carriers are open.
    Don't assume facilities will be open. It's always worth a quick call to double check.
  • Prioritize your freight.
    Depending on where you’re shipping, there may not be enough capacity in the market to pick up all of your loads.
  • Get as much flexibility on pickup and delivery as possible.
    The bigger windows you are able to give your transportation providers, the better chance you’ll be able to take advantage of limited capacity.
  • Communication is key.
    The more transparency you can give to your providers, the smoother the next couple of weeks will go. Make sure your providers know which shipments are most critical to your business.
  • Anticipate rate and capacity volatility in the near-term.
    Freight markets are interconnected — what happens in British Columbia can have a ripple effect across multiple regions in Canada and the U.S. You may find plenty of capacity for some of your freight, and challenges in other parts of your network.

 

Coyote Is Here to Help

Extreme weather can potentially be life-threatening.

The safety of our employees, customers, carriers and their families are always of the utmost importance. Our thoughts are with everyone who may be affected by these ongoing storms.

If you have any questions, or need any assistance, please reach out to canadapricing@coyote.com or your Coyote rep.