Floods, slides close highways in B.C. Interior as atmospheric river drenches province

Two highways in B.C.'s Interior were closed Sunday due to debris on the roadway as a result of the heavy rain hitting the province this weekend.

Two highways in B.C.'s Interior were closed Sunday due to debris on the roadway as a result of the heavy rain hitting the province this weekend.

Around 10:30 a.m., DriveBC tweeted that Highway 1 had been closed due to rocks on the road north of the Sailor Bar Tunnel, north of Yale, B.C.

Later, around noon, the provincial agency shared news that the Coquihalla Highway had also been closed due to a mudslide.

Video shared with Castanet News shows muddy water and debris filling one set of lanes on Highway 5 and spilling over the concrete barrier into the other lanes. 

The slide is located between exits 202 and 217 at the Zopkios Brake Check, about eight kilometres south of the Great Bear Snowshed, according to DriveBC.

The agency recommends using Highway 3 as an alternate route and says no estimated time of reopening is available for the Coquihalla.

Photos of the Highway 1 closure shared by Castanet show a large amount of water spilling across the highway just east of Popkum Road