18°c Clear
28°c Isolated showers
Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Four missing after huge landslide buries homes
JOHNSON'S LANDING, B.C. -- Roland Procter was enjoying a good read on his garden deck Thursday morning when an unmistakable noise shattered his peace and, within seconds, several of his neighbours' lives.
"It was a prolonged 20- to 30-second rumbling that was unlike any rumbling I've ever heard," the retired doctor said from his home in Johnson's Landing in southeastern B.C. "I realized right away there was only one thing it could be."
Procter listened from only 500 metres away as a massive torrent of mud gushed down from Gar Creek, sweeping up large trees and snapping them like toothpicks as the muck engulfed the southern half of his tiny village.
At least three homes were destroyed in the powerful deluge, which had search and rescue crews frantically digging for four people who are unaccounted for. Rescuers fear they may have been buried in the slide.
Equipment and road crews were dispatched to the scene, about 70 kilometres northeast of Nelson, B.C., to help responders who were expected to keep working throughout the night.
It's not yet been confirmed whether the residents were inside when the landslide rolled over their homes.
"RCMP and search and rescue emergency responders on the site are trying to determine whether they were out of the community or in their homes. We don't know that information," said Bill Macpherson, a public information officer with Central Kootenay Regional District. "It is a very remote area, there is no cell service and we're waiting to get back more definitive word."
But Procter described the situation as grim. After the disaster occurred, he scrambled through thick bush downhill to the beach with another neighbour to investigate the home of a close friend.
"It's completely crushed and buried and the debris pile there is probably 10 metres high and 100 metres across," he said.
-- The Canadian Press
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition July 13, 2012 A16
More Latest News
- Back to Top
- Return to Latest News
More Latest News
(1 of 50 articles for this week)
'Shocking' half of First Nations kids living in poverty, new study finds
06/18/2013 9:32 PM 0TORONTO — Half of Canada's First Nations children are living in poverty, triple the national average, according to a new ...
Poll
Most Popular Latest News
- Young girl found dead on railway tracks
- Child in critical condition after West End crash
- Court told driver hysterical after vehicle fatally hit highway worker
- Winnipeg man given 2-year sentence for coma-inducing 'sucker punch'
- Man convicted of drunk driving in Henderson pile-up
- Teen on train tracks from York Landing
- McMunn & Yates absorbs five McDiarmid locations
- HSC Home Lottery winners announced
- California 'Night Stalker' serial killer Richard Ramirez dies at 53
- At 55, I'm wise to what's real in life
- Young girl found dead on railway tracks
- HSC Home Lottery winners announced
- Winnipeg man given 2-year sentence for coma-inducing 'sucker punch'
- Child in critical condition after West End crash
- RCMP say woman deliberately murdered her sister with her car
- Court told driver hysterical after vehicle fatally hit highway worker
- Toronto woman dead in rural Manitoba ATV wreck
- Manitoba restaurant stops selling giant hamburger "for obvious reasons"
- Bomber fans wowed by new stadium
- Portage Ave. stretch re-opens after Friday-night bomb scare
- Young girl found dead on railway tracks
- Man dies after being pulled from vehicle submerged in Winnipeg retention pond
- Hailstorm wreaks havoc on Winnipeg garden centre
- 87-year-old woman tells jurors, 'Somebody had to stand up to' Donald Trump
- Two people killed in crash north of Winnipeg
- Two Winnipeg teens identified as victims of crash
- HSC Home Lottery winners announced
- Father, daughter seriously injured in ATV crash
- Chiropractor guilty of sexually assaulting, beating ex-girlfriend
- Filipino singer Charice comes out as lesbian; Catholic official says she's in identity crisis
- At 55, I'm wise to what's real in life
- Basic arithmetic back in class
- Craig Ferguson adds second show
- Make it look natural; companies work to make packaged foods appear homespun
- McMunn & Yates absorbs five McDiarmid locations
- Teens can join Let It Out Summer Rock Camp
- Daycare-subsidy rules bad for business
- City-wide average mosquito count drops
- Scientists meet to discuss weird British weather, say soggy summers likely for a few years
- New Flyer awarded Atlanta bus contract
- App could give Winnipeggers chance to report bad parking, get paid
- At 55, I'm wise to what's real in life
- Sobeys gobbles up Safeway
- Priest kept silent about accusations against Storheim, court hears
- Manitoba restaurant stops selling giant hamburger "for obvious reasons"
- Basic arithmetic back in class
- Geothermal heat coming to some Manitoba First Nations
- Spiralling cost of land raises new home prices
- Jaimie Creasy becomes first woman to graduate from RRC with degree
- Rogers and MTS announce new network sharing agreement
- New owner for lumber stores
- Chiropractor guilty of sexually assaulting, beating ex-girlfriend
- Grocer Joe Cantor dies at 88
- Door openers being used to break into garages, police warn
- Province formally opens Mental Health Crisis Response Centre
- Hailstorm wreaks havoc on Winnipeg garden centre
- New rules let customers cancel phone contracts without penalty after two years
- App could give Winnipeggers chance to report bad parking, get paid
- At 55, I'm wise to what's real in life
- MTS to sell Allstream to Egyptian investment group, focus on Manitoba market
Ads by Google
You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is be a Winnipeg Free Press print or e-edition subscriber to join the conversation and give your feedback.
You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is be a Winnipeg Free Press print or e-edition subscriber to join the conversation and give your feedback.
Have Your Say
New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.
Have Your Say
Comments are open to Winnipeg Free Press print or e-edition subscribers only. why?
Login SubscribeHave Your Say
Comments are open to Winnipeg Free Press Subscribers only. why?
SubscribeThe Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.