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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Leyland Cecco in Toronto

‘Sleeping giant’ drought threatens more disasters after record Canada wildfires

Residents watch the McDougall Creek wildfire in West Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada, on 17 August 17, 2023, from Kelowna.
Residents watch the McDougall Creek wildfire in West Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada, on 17 August 2023, from Kelowna. Photograph: Darren Hull/AFP/Getty Images

A season of record-breaking wildfires in British Columbia is nearly over, but officials in the Canadian province have warned that a persistent drought in the Canadian province is a “sleeping giant” which could usher in a fresh set of natural disasters, including devastating floods in the coming months.

Bowinn Ma, British Columbia’s emergency management minister said this week the unprecedented drought has the full attention of senior government officials as the region enters the “home stretch” of the province’s unprecedented wildfire season. Hundreds of blazes tore across the province this summer, leaving crews exhausted and broken, and scorching an estimated 2.2m hectares of land.

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