#late-springstorminNewfoundland;#LarryDohey; #LindaLibby; #HomeMedicine: TheNewfoundlandExperience;  

GANDER, N.L., May 25 (Canadian-Media): Residents in Newfoundland were dismayed by a late-spring storm that buried cars in snow and closed schools Thursday, media reports said.

“You would think you were in January,” said one employee of the Gander Public Library, which opened four hours late, after the town plowed the streets. “People have been golfing, and raking, everything here was very spring-like. So this has set us back.”

Linda Libby, Environment Canada meteorologist had said more than 35 centimetres of snow fell at Gander International Airport overnight and into Thursday.​

Loretta Dwyer of Loretta’s Flower World in Gander said said the snowfall reminded her of more than 69 centimetres that  fell there on May 18 and 19, 2013.

Larry Dohey, director of programming at The Rooms art gallery, cultural museum and archives in St. John’s, N.L., said his Irish ancestors from Newfoundland’s Cape Shore region suggested bottling May snowfalls and using the liquid on your face as a way to soften freckles.

Other traditions propose May snow as a cure for sore eyes, he said.

In John K. Crellin’s 1994 book “Home Medicine: The Newfoundland Experience,” he offers another explanation for the May snow folklore.

“One Newfoundland informant thought this practice was linked with May being the month of the Virgin Mary and the need to receive her blessing,” Crellin writes.

“Perhaps, too, there was a vague link with a common treatment for sore eyes in Ireland, namely, the water of certain holy wells.”
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#KurtHahnPrize; #internationalaward, #hurricanereliefproject, #schoolforCaribbeanisland, #HeatherChisholm; #NewBrunswick; #HurricaneMaria; #​ComeauMcKenzieArchitecture, #FundyEngineering; #FirstChoiceVentilation

Rothesay(N.B)/Ottawa, May 20 (Canadian-Media): A 15 year old girl from Rothesay, New Brunswick (N.B.) won Kurt Hahn Prize, an international award, for her innovative plan to provide school for Caribbean island, media reports said.
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The prize is awarded annually to a student or group of students, in recognition of an exceptional act of service to others, within Round Square's network of about 180 schools in 50 countries.

Heather Chisholm, a Grade 10 student at Rothesay Netherwood School will be formally recognized at a ceremony in Montreal in September.

#BCFloods,  #2ndwaveofflooding,  #JessicaMace,  #RolyRussell, #KootenayBoundaryRegionalDistrict; #GrandForks 
 
British Columbia/Ottawa, May 16 (Canadian-Media): With prospect of flooding expected to worsen over the next few days in the hard-hit southern Interior of British Columbia (B.C.), politicians and officials are asking for help from the army, media reports said.  

"We are in conversation with our partners at Emergency Management BC to see what resources might be available for us," said Roly Russell, chair of the Kootenay Boundary Regional District. "We feel we could use those resources effectively on the ground."

Emergency workers and volunteers had been reportedly exhausted after almost a week of fighting the floods, especially in Grand Forks, Christina Lake, Rock Creek and surrounding rural areas due to the melting of the heavy snowpack and a  surge of water down from the mountains caused by high temperatures, 

"People have been working really long hours and it's boiling here — 32 C. They're thirsty, they're tired and they're worn out," said Jessica Mace of the Kettle River Water Authority. 

Residents had been updated with the latest flood information during two meetings yesterday.

The public is being asked  by emergency personnel from the Kootenay Boundary Regional District to remain vigilant and to stay out of evacuated areas to allow emergency officials to focus their efforts.

​(Reporting by Asha Bajaj)​

#B.C.Floods, #B.C.swelteringheat, #globalwarming; #InteriorB.C.; #UniversityofB.C.; #MarkusSchnorbus;  #climatechange; #BrettGilley #EarthOceanandAtmosphericSciences, #PacificClimateImpactsConsortiuminVictoria

Vancouver, B.C./Ottawa, May 15 (Canadian-Media): Many people in B.C. are reflect​ing if record-breaking heat they are experiencing and destructive floods are due to climate change, media reports said. 

Temperatures, in several communities,  over the weekend, had risen into the high 20s and low 30s, which had busted through daily records.

Massive floods had hit parts of the Interior B.C., for the second year in a row. 

Last year's floods, immediately followed by wildfires and the consequent result in the loss of plant cover, had made some parts of the province even more susceptible to flooding.

Although these high temperatures had resulted in the rapid melting of mountain snow giving rise to floods that could hit levels seen only once in 100 years, scientists said it was too early to connect one-time events or with or even two or three-time events to global climate trends.

Brett Gilley, a professor in Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of B.C., said,

"I think climate change is definitely something that we're starting to experience, but it's hard to say this is that," Gilley told CBC.

"When we're talking about climate, we're usually thinking of a 30-year average," Gilley said.

"So five years of weather, for example, isn't necessarily enough for us to say climate has changed, but it's possible."

It is still debatable, according to Markus Schnorbus, the lead for hydrologic impacts at the Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium in Victoria, how warming temperatures affect flooding.
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"We have obviously concerns that hydrologic events can become more frequent in the future — both flooding and droughts — so it's something that we are very desperate and anxious to answer," said Schnorbus.

While rising temperatures can lead to sudden snow melt, causing flooding, higher temperatures in the winter could also mean less snow to melt, Schnorbus pointed out.

"There are all these different multiple trends with potentially conflicting processes," he said.

By using computer models, added Schnorbus, that take into account everything from projected snowfall, to melting speeds, to summer precipitation, scientists are trying to predict how drought and flood cycles  are affected by climate change.

​(Reporting by Asha Bajaj)​

#FloodinginB.C.; #ChrisMarsh; 

​Vancouver (B.C.), Ottawa, May 10 (Canadian-Media):  Flooding in British Columbia's (B.C.) southern Interior due to extremely heavy snowpacks, sudden downpours and unseasonably warm temperatures, nearly 2,700 people had received evacuation orders, media reports said. 

Chris Marsh, emergency operations centre director and program manager for the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary, said there has been “significant flooding” in the eastern area of the region, washouts on smaller streams and tributaries in the region.

Marsh added that different parts of the district could see bodies of water swell between 30 and 100 centimetres.

The province also encouraged local governments and First Nations communities along the lower Fraser River to prepare for potential flooding as it experiences high flow rates.

Frances Maika of the regional district said the flood is “in the range” of a once in a 200 year occurrence.

The EmergencyInfoBC website, which provides information during provincial emergencies, lists evacuation orders or alerts in seven regional districts and for seven First Nations around the province.

Jessica Mace of the Kettle River Watershed Authority said volunteers arrived in downtown Grand Forks from across the area to help business owners and residents.

“It’s been truly amazing,” she said. “I was just downtown and there are tons of people down there helping all the businesses sand bag their places as best they can.”

“In the next 24 hours, we are going to see the peak in some areas but then people have to respond to what has happened. The recovery is going to be an active process,” she said.“Many businesses are starting to donate food,” said Mace. “People are very happy to see food show up.”

Meantime, the B.C. River Forecast Centre has upgraded to a flood warning for the Okanagan, Boundary, and Salmon rivers.

The agency said the warning includes Mission Creek and surrounding tributaries in the Okanagan, as well as West Kettle River, Kettle River, Granby River and surrounding tributaries in Boundary.The Central Okanagan’s emergency response centre said there had been localized flood and record creek flows in the area including Kelowna. Mission Creek reached a record flow rate overnight on Wednesday, the centre said, and dikes, sand bags and tiger dams were able to contain the flow.

Residents under evacuation order are being directed to reception centres in Grand Forks and Midway, but Maika said the surge of water should pass quickly.

Thousands of homes have been evacuated in B.C.’s southern Interior, and several highways have been closed, as rapidly melting snowpacks and heavy rain cause flooding throughout the province.In the next 24 hours, we are going to see the peak in some areas but then people have to respond to what has happened. The recovery is going to be an active process, she said.

#Water levels are still rising in the wake of the precipitation amounts that we received over the past couple of days, so any additional rainfall amounts would just exacerbate the flood situation right now," he said.

The flooding which began more than a week had forced at least 888 people from their homes, as of Sunday morning.

Roadways including  the Trans-Canada Highway between Moncton and Fredericton, and Route 10 in Chipman had been closed.

Water levels are at historic highs in southern regions of New Brunswick and we expect water levels to remain above flood stage for several days," said Shawn Berry, spokesperson for the New Brunswick Emergency Measures Organization (EMO).

The St. John River has now swelled  nearly 1.5 metres above the flood stage.

N.B. Premier Brian Gallant said Saturday that he had not ruled out declaring a state of emergency or calling in the army to assist with flooding in the province,  expected to continue for at least the next five days.​

​N.B, on Saturday had suffered additional damages caused by wind gust of up to 70 kilometres an hour, whipping up waves and causing floodwaters to gush over protective sandbags.

Efforts of evacuation had also become more complicated and power to thousands of homes of businesses were knocked out.

As of Sunday afternoon, more than 3,000 NB Power customers are still without electricity about 80 roads closed, more road 

Officials are urging anyone in communities such as Grand Lake, Jemseg, Gagetown, Hampstead, Belleisle, Oak Point, Grand Bay-Westfield, Quispamsis and Saint John to be on high alert.

"People should continue to exercise caution living on the St. John River system," Berry said.

As of Sunday morning, 888 people from across the province registered as evacuees with the Red Cross. ​

#Marie-FranceLalonde, #SouthernOntarioWindStorm,  #EmergencyManagementOntario

Ottawa, May 6 (Canadian-Media): Marie-France Lalonde, Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services issued the following statement yesterday, media reports said.

"Our heart goes out to the families and loved ones of the two people who tragically lost their lives during yesterday night's wind storm.

I know many families and businesses across the province are dealing with the effects of the wind storm. I want to assure those affected that your local hydro utilities are working as quickly and safely as possible to return electricity to those without power. 
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On behalf of all Ontarians, I want to say thank you to those hydro workers who worked throughout the night and are continuing to work today, to reconnect the hundreds of thousands of people who experienced outages and those still without power. Our first responders and municipal services are also working diligently to make our roads safe and clear branches from power lines. I urge people not to attempt to move downed branches or trees on your own.​

#OntarioWindStorm, #Quebecwindstorm, #TorontoHydro, #EnvironmentCanada


​Ottawa, May 5 (Canadian-Media): Hundreds of thousands in Ontario and Quebec still without power after storm brought down trees, scattered debris across central Canada, media reports said.

The storm started in southwestern Ontario in the afternoon, and swept into eastern Ontario late in the evening before heading into Quebec.

More than 75,000 households and businesses in Quebec,  are also without power due to damage from 100 km/h winds.

About 68,000 customers were without power at the peak of the storm.

About 13,000 customers in Toronto are reportedly affected  and more than 350 hydro poles in Ontario were reportedly broken in the storm.

Tori Gass, spokesperson for Toronto Hydro, said the utility considers itself to be in an "emergency state" because damage from the windstorm has been "severe." Etobicoke was the hardest hit area in Toronto, she said.

"The storm came in fast and furious yesterday," she said.

"There are poles that have been brought down and wires that have been brought down. There are some instances where there are risks and dangerous situations. This is a very serious and a significant event for our power system."

"Unfortunately, it's scattered quite widely throughout the city. There seems to be not one area that wasn't touched by the damaging storm that happened yesterday." 

More damage to hydro infrastructure in Toronto was caused by this windstorm, said Gass than did the ice storm in mid-April, when 44,000 customers lost power during the peak of the storm.

"This storm, while it was short-lived, was more much damaging than even that ice and wind storm that we had."​

​​According to a recent polling by CBC Calgary's 'The Road Ahead' series, over one in three see Alberta's economy moving sideways, while another one in five see it getting worse.

A slight majority of Albertans do not believe that Alberta has recovered from its recession.

​The gap between perception and reality, said the reports, is understandable following such a deep recession.

But the data reveals Alberta's an economy is still second to none in Canada. 

This is evident from the economical data that employment was up by 3.5 percent from its bottom in the recession, earnings rose by 6.9 percent, wholesale trade increased by 16.3 percent, manufacturing rose by 25.5 percent), exports increased by  46.5 percent, retail sales improved by  0.7 percent and EI recipients went down 42.2 percent

#Ottawa, #TheliberalPartyofCanada, #Liberals, #Ontario, #Quebec, #Alberta, #BritishColumbia, #B.C., #CatherineMcKenna, #EdFast, #carbonpricing, #EnvironmentandClimateChangeCanada, #Conservativeoppositionleaders, 

Ottawa, May 1 (Canadian-Media): The liberal Party of Canada (Liberals) had pointed out strong economic growth in the four largest provinces, Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia (B.C.), which had all adopted some form of carbon pricing, media reports said. 

In its report, the Environment and Climate Change Canada provided the impact and cost of the federal carbon pricing legislation that is currently working its way through Parliament as part of the 2018 budget bill.

“Our analysis confirms that carbon pricing works, and that it is critical to any credible plan to fight climate change,” Ontario's Environment Minister Catherine McKenna said in an interview on Monday. “It’s cost-effective, and, also it creates the incentive to choose cleaner solutions … which not only saves you money, but it also creates good jobs here in Canada.”
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