In British Columbia, Canada, after days of rain, there is now a state of emergency.
More than 17,000 residents of the western province have already had to leave their homes due to severe flooding, the government announced on Wednesday (local time).
Further evacuations could follow.
Heavy rain fell on the weekend into Monday in the province.
A woman was killed in a landslide.
Several people are still missing.
Canadian media meanwhile reported panic buying and empty supermarket shelves. "Please do not hear any articles," British Columbia Prime Minister John Horgan wrote on Twitter. "Remember that your neighbor in line behind you needs the same supplies as you." He said he was confident that the emergency will help restore supply chains quickly. According to media reports, parts of the region's road network have been paralyzed. The Canadian government has pledged federal funds, including military aid, to the province to help restore clean drinking water.
Many farm animals have died.
“We have thousands of animals that have perished.
Many, many more are in a difficult situation, "the newspaper" The Globe and Mail "quoted the provincial agriculture minister, Lana Popham.
The animals that had survived are now running out of food.
The floods are devastating for farmers.
For example, the city of Abbotsford, located around 70 kilometers southeast of Vancouver, responsible for a large part of the province's milk and poultry production, is largely under water, the paper continued.
The state of emergency is initially valid for 14 days.
A state of emergency was declared in British Columbia last summer due to an extreme heat wave and forest fires.