Officials are warning against non-essential travel as the forecast calls for heavy rainfall across large sections of southern and coastal British Columbia, including areas devastated by flooding and mudslides earlier this month. Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth says the storm expected to hit later today and last into tomorrow could be the most intense yet for the central coast. Environment Canada meteorologist Armel Castellan says BC's central coast and the west coast of Vancouver Island could see up to 150 millimetres of rain. Castellan says the flood-soaked Fraser Valley east of Abbots

British Columbia has become the fourth province to identify its first case of the COVID-19 Omicron variant. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says the affected person recently returned from Nigeria and lives in an area covered by the Fraser Health authority. Dr. Henry says 204 people who recently returned from parts of southern African with outbreaks of the variant are undergoing testing while in quarantine. The federal government has announced that all air travellers, except those coming from the United States, will now be tested for COVID-19 when they arrive at Canadian airports, r

Container truck drivers at Aheer Transportation and Prudential Transportation could be on strike as soon as December 3, 2021 after 72-hours notice was served today by Unifor."Unifor will not let Aheer and Prudential escape their responsibilities to workers," said Unifor National President Jerry Dias. "The pattern collective agreement negotiated this summer is fair and reasonable. There will be no exemptions for greedy employers."On November 21 truckers at the two companies voted overwhelmingly to strike if their employers refused the industry pattern agreement set earlier this year with Harbou

Surrey RCMP are seeking the public's help after three separate shootings were reported over the weekend. They say one of the victims is in critical condition and two others were injured. Police say it's too early to determine a motive but they believe all three shootings were targeted. They say investigators are exploring links to criminal activity and the drug trade, and are asking anyone who may have information or dash camera footage of the incidents to come forward.

Flood warnings have been issued for the Coldwater, Coquihalla, Nicola and Tulameen rivers as the third rainstorm in less than a week is set to bring heavy rain to southern and coastal B-C. Rising waters on the rivers caused serious flood damage earlier this month to cities and towns along their banks, including Merritt, Spences Bridge, Princeton and Hope. A flood warning also remains in effect for the Sumas River through Abbotsford, where crews set up a portable dam last night to protect a key stretch of Highway 1, which remains closed between McCallum Road in Abbotsford and Yale Road in Chill

Over a three-day period, B.C. is reporting 970 new cases of COVID-19, including two epi-linked cases, for a total of 218,068 cases in the province:Nov. 26-27: 389 new casesNov. 27-28: 309 new casesNov. 28-29: 272 new casesThere are currently 2,882 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 212,704 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 303 individuals are currently in hospital and 115 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.In the past 72 hours, 11 new deaths have been reported, for a total of 2,333.The new deaths include

British Columbia's health minister says the government is pleased that so many parents are interested in ensuring their children are vaccinated for COVID-19. Adrian Dix says those who registered their children aged five to 11 should expect to receive an invitation to book an appointment starting Monday. Dix says about 104,000 children of that group are registered to get vaccinated of the 350,000 eligible to receive the modified dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Health Canada approved the pediatric shot for use in Canada after an independent scientific review confirmed the first vaccine for

British Columbia is extending fuel rationing until Dec. 14 until the Trans Mountain pipeline is back online after a series of devastating storms in the southern part of the province. Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth says the province is also extending the state of emergency until the same date in order to ensure emergency services have the resources they need. The pipeline has been shut down since Nov. 14, when a storm known as an atmospheric river hammered parts of southern B.C., flooding communities, farmland and washing away roads and bridges. Energy Minister Bruce Ralston says the pi

Surrey RCMP is cautioning members of the public following a series of robberies that originated through escort service sites.Recently, Surrey RCMP has seen a few instances of men hiring an escort, meeting at a prearranged location for a sexual encounter and then being robbed. It is believed that others may have been victimized but have not come forward to police. Surrey RCMP are encouraging any additional victims to contact police at 604-599-0502.Any encounters that involve meeting up with unknown individuals that take place behind closed doors, brings about inherent risk to all parties involv