Canada floods cut railway to Vancouver Port

Floods and landslides that have killed at least one person have cut all rail access to Canada's largest port in the city of Vancouver, a spokesperson for the port said on Tuesday.

Two days of torrential rain across the Pacific Province of British Columbia touched off major flooding and shut rail routes operated by Canadian Pacific Rail and Canadian National Railway, Canada's two biggest rail companies.

"All rail service coming to and from the Port of Vancouver is halted because of flooding in the British Columbia interior," Port Spokesperson Matti Polychronis said.

At least one person was killed when a mudslide swept cars off Highway 99 near Pemberton, some 160 km to the northeast of Vancouver.

Two people were missing and search and rescue crews were combing through the rubble, officials said.

Vancouver's port moves C$550 million ($440 million) worth of cargo a day, ranging from automobiles and finished goods to essential commodities.

The floods temporarily shut down much of the movement of wheat and canola from Canada, one of the world's biggest grain exporters, during a busy time for trains to haul grain to the port following the harvest.

Drought has sharply reduced the size of Canada's crops this year, meaning a rail disruption of a few days may not create a significant backlog, a grain industry source told Reuters.

ME