Rod Nickel, Nia Williams

(Reuters) – Canadian flood-stricken province of British Columbia has seen its grocery stores empty after catastrophic flooding. However, the lackluster situation is due to panic buying and disrupted supply chains. Industry associations stated on Thursday that this was likely.

Despite the receding floodwaters, parts of the province will experience temporary shortages in dairy supply. Officials and retailers are calling for calm.

The country’s westmost province declared an emergency Wednesday due to a “atmospheric flood” that brought in a full month of rainfall within two days. Rainstorms caused flooding that flooded roads and railroads and cut off access to many towns.

Photos shared on social media show empty fridges and shelves in grocery stores. It was reminiscent of early COVID-19 days, when people scrambled for stock. One store’s produce section was empty of lemons, limes, and cranberries.

Save-On-Foods in western Canada is Canada’s biggest grocery retailer and is part of Jim Pattison Group. They encourage customers to stop hoarding.

On Twitter, the company explained that they “understand this is a stressful time and difficult time for many people in our community.” You can only purchase what your family really needs right now.

About three quarters of B.C.About three-quarters (75%) of British Columbia’s dairy production were affected by the storm, which lasted several days. The farmers ended up having to dump a small number of litres.

He said that although collections are currently being resumed, the region may experience a temporary shortage of milk before accessing supplies from other provinces or regions.

One of the most affected regions is the Fraser Valley east Vancouver where 63 dairy farmers were forced to flee. Abbotsford is the Fraser Valley’s largest city and supplies 50% of British Columbia’s milk, eggs, and poultry. There are many farms located in fertile Sumas Prairie soils, a former lake which was dewatered a century ago in order to facilitate agriculture.

Abbotsford mayor estimates that his own city could sustain damage of up to C$1billion (793 million).

Hope 120 km (75 mi) east of Vancouver is facing food shortages as a result of road washes and mudslides. However, panic buying has led to others seeing their shelves empty.

Greg Wilson (Director of B.C. The Retail Council of Canada handles government relations.

Highways are available between B.C. Alberta is able to provide the Interior of B.C. with its highways.

Wilson stated that Vancouver and lower mainland residents can get more food from Washington State to the south and that rerouting supply chains is already in progress.

($1 = 1.2607 Canadian dollars)