British Columbia flooding has 18,000 still stranded, some in remote mountains

FILE PHOTO: Farmers travel across flood waters to rescue their livestock in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada, November 16, 2021, in this still image from video obtained via social media. Video taken November 16, 2021. Derrek Pryor via REUTERS

ABBOTSFORD, British Columbia (Reuters) -Emergency crews were still trying to reach 18,000 people stranded on Thursday after floods and mudslides destroyed roads, houses and bridges in British Columbia in what could be the costliest natural disaster in Canadian history.

Receding floodwaters helped rescue efforts, but the downpour blocked off entire towns in the Pacific Coast province and cut access to the country's largest port in Vancouver, disrupting already strained global supply chains.