Some roads partially reopened in flooded British Columbia

By JIM MORRIS
Associated Press

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — An advance team of Canadian soldiers is in British Columbia assessing the needs of local authorities and more are on the way. Officials said Thursday that some major highways have reopened to limited traffic. But they say the situation remains critical after floods and mudslides that forced evacuations, blocked transportation routes, caused the death of at least one person and killed thousands of farm animals. British Columbia’s public safety minister says the cost of repairing damage to roads, bridges and other infrastructure from 48 hours of record rains is “going to be substantial.” About 17,000 people remain out of their homes, with 6,900 properties under evacuation order.