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The Lillooet mudslide stands as one of the most devastating natural disasters in the history of British Columbia. Experts have referred to the storm system as a “once-in-a-century” event, but for the residents of the Lower Mainland, the destruction felt even more personal. For days, every major highway leading east out of Vancouver was closed due to washouts or landslides, effectively severing the region from the rest of Canada. The Lillooet corridor, with its steep gradients and winding curves, is particularly vulnerable to such disasters, and it had no chance of surviving the storm’s fury. Those caught in the mudslide had no warning—one moment, they were driving along a seemingly ordinary stretch of highway, and the next, the mountainside above them had given way, sending a wall of debris crashing down with terrifying speed.
