Historic Flooding in BC Causes McDonald’s Supply Chain Disruption In Japan

The historic flooding that we had recently in BC caused a tremendous amount of damage around the province. It wasn’t only BC that had been impacted either by the flooding.

Other parts of Canada were also reportedly impacted, flooding fueled supply chain issues in Alberta as well. And now it looks like the damage might reach around the world, with the McDonald’s supply chain impacted over in Japan following the BC flooding.

The flooding in BC and issues with backlog and more at a Vancouver port meant that McDonald’s in Japan would soon see disruption in their deliveries to the point that they are now reportedly rotating portions for customers.

Rationing Fries in Japan Due to Supply Chain Issues

McDonald’s has said that they are trying to fix the problem. Until they can resolve the issue though customers can expect to see only one size of fries being served at the end of the month. Customers will only be able to get a small size for fries in Japan until things can return to normal.

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The recent flooding in BC meant that roads were heavily impacted and destroyed in multiple regions, rail lines needed to be repaired, and the Vancouver Port reportedly descended into distress as a result.

In recent months we have seen backlogs build up at different shipping areas around the world, including the Port of Vancouver, even though it was reported that it hadn’t been directly affected by the historic BC flooding that we saw this year.

This means that other sizes of McDonald’s fries are going to be removed from thousands of locations around Japan because of the potatoes being in short supply. They’ve pointed the finger at the flooding in BC for contributing to this problem of fries at McDonald’s being rationed now.

Though they will be limiting the fries with rationing and only giving out one size it has been reported that so far the supply of hash browns hasn’t been similarly affected. To make sure that as many customers can get their fries as possible they are implementing that rationing and only giving out the small size.

Coquihalla Opening Early After Historic BC Flooding

The recent historic flooding that took place in British Columbia had a great impact on communities around the province. There were many evacuations, homes destroyed, and some who lost their lives as well. We saw supply chain issues come about as a result, for a supply chain that was already struggling because of the pandemic, and gas restrictions went into effect.

Now those gas restrictions in BC have been lifted recently. And it looks like the highway is going to be open earlier than expected after crews have been working hard around the clock to get things back to normal for us.

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BC Highway Reopening Dec 20

On Monday it is expected that the highway will reopen to some extent for commercial vehicles and buses. This reopening for the highway in BC comes well ahead of the expectation that we might not have seen it reopen until next year.

Emergency crews working on the task have been working hard and around the clock to make sure that communities in BC can soon reconnect and get back to business, reopening before the Christmas holiday.

The reopening on Dec 20th for the Coquihalla Highway is expected to be open for commercial vehicles and inter-city buses. For now we aren’t clear when it might reopen to full traffic.

Right now those in BC are being warned against traveling because of road conditions and concerns over COVID-19/Omicron.

There are still heavily damaged locations along the Coquihalla Highway that crews are busy working on. It’s also been reported that there will be some issues with power along the highway so there will be limited lighting available for travel in that area because of this, and you can expect to see reduced speeds for safety.

Priority To Get Trucks Moving Again on Coquihalla Highway

Officials have credited remarkable engineering feats with making this all possible in being able to get the Coquihalla Highway open again to reestablish that travel.

At first it wasn’t expected that they might reach this level of progress until early in the New Year but now British Columbians have a chance to again access those communities before the Christmas holiday now that things are reopening soon. The project of getting these areas reopened around the province after flooding has taken the work of hundreds of individuals using over 200 pieces of heavy machinery to get the job done.

The main priority after the flooding this year has been to get the supply chains operational again by working on those more than a dozen sites around the province where road lanes were completely wiped out. As for the exact time that this traffic might start flowing again on that day they are still determining that.

Supply Chain Issues From BC Flooding Already Impacting Other Areas

This week stores have been low on supply on a number of items. Some stores in BC are seeing it worse than others, especially those that were more closely impacted by the recent historic flooding that we saw in the province. Officials have urged people not to panic and not to start panic buying because this is only going to make it worse.

Ground beef, eggs, dairy, and other food items might be hard to find right now, and there are gas limits as well, but the public has been assured that the goods are coming it is just a matter of time and getting things to where they need to be. Some restaurants in BC had to close up early because of those shortages, for things like eggs especially, and there is hope that within just a few days we will see more stock coming back onto the shelves.

Shoppers have been panicked recently in multiple regions, it isn’t only those in BC that have been looking to stock up because they are worried about the shortages that they are seeing. There are scenes of different stores in the market who have already taken to covering up those empty shelves or using other items to display in the place of those food shortages, where the items would normally be.

Grocery Stores and Restaurants See Supply Chain Issues

Grocery stores are running out of food in BC because of those supply chain difficulties and the flooding in BC has highlighted a fragile supply chain and this will impact more than the province here alone. It has already been reported that BC flooding has impacted supply chains in Alberta too.

There are many individuals who are working to get things resolved though, from the road repairs to toilet paper and dairy items getting back onto the shelves.

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It is suspected that the recent flooding in BC might impact more than just the surrounding supply chain in the province here, but could also extend to Alberta too and other areas.

Amid recent flooding and supply chain issues a number of Canadians reportedly took to traveling down south to the United States to get some food, and there are reports that some were fined thousands of dollars to reenter.

News reports also recently announced that there was a federal update which enabled border communities in the province to go down to the U.S. for gas and other essential goods and that they could cross back without requiring the COVID-19 test or having to quarantine, regardless of their vaccination.

Because of the demand for food right now with supply chain issues there are other resources who are also facing an uptick in demand like local food banks in the province. Since the flooding took place there are numerous campaigns that have been launched to bring resources and help to those who are affected by this disaster.

The Lower Mainland is known as one of the largest manufacturing centers in Canada and this flooding has caused extensive damage around the province, experts have suggested that it might have a ripple effect which extends across Canada.

Photo by Braeson Holland on Pexels.com

Holiday shoppers have already been warned for weeks that they should start shopping because of potential supply chain issues and more difficulty in finding some items more than others. Know one can tell for sure how bad the problem might get or how long it might last for.

Rationing Gas in BC: 30L Limit on Purchases

Just recently the province announced gas rationing limits to try and make sure that there would be enough for essential vehicles in the province in the face of potential shortages and supply chain issues from flooding. This meant that a 30L limit would be coming into play for gas purchases in BC.

Travel has also been restricted on flood impacted highways as well around the province and they’ve asked the public to limit their fuel consumption at this time as well as their general vehicle travel.

In the face of this difficulty though we have seen British Columbians step up in a big way to help, despite whatever issues they might be going through on their own many have looked to give and help others at this time.

Hundreds of thousands of dollars has already been raised to help those who have been impacted by flooding in the province. BC businesses have together raised hundreds of thousands, as well as countless other individuals and communities around the province raising through one venture or another.

Evacuations were ordered in some parts of the province when we saw that historic flooding recently and for some they lost cars, livestock, homes, and there are some who lost their lives. For the thousands of British Columbians who had to evacuate because of recent flooding officials have also recently announced financial support to help them cover short term emergency costs.

When will supply issues in BC be fixed?

The BC Premier has insisted that there is confidence they will be able to restore the supply chain in a quick and orderly manner, without it taking that much time to resolve the issue. However, there are some food operations that are still on hold because of the damage to supply routes and highways. The resolution can’t come soon enough as businesses and British Columbians look to find goods for their daily routine and the holiday season ahead.

Store Limits and Supply Issues Seen Again in BC

BC has recently seen a state of emergency declared after historic flooding hit the region. Several areas had to be evacuated and community members and volunteers have quickly jumped into action to help those who have been affected. The flooding in BC has caused a great amount of damage to regions like Abbotsford, Merritt, and other parts of BC. There are also some injuries too and now supply chain issues.

Videos and photos have been circulating of empty shelves in areas like Kamloops, Chilliwack, Abbotsford, and now other parts of Metro Vancouver as well.

Food supply limits can be seen again for things like meat and dairy, to try and prevent panic buying and make sure that there is enough to go around. Following the historic flooding in BC there were significant lines seen at places like Walmart and Costco as people went to stock up on what supplies they could get their hands on.

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These empty shelves seen above are from a Walmart in Burnaby, which didn’t get significant flooding to it in the same way that Merritt and Abbotsford had seen. However, it looks like the panic buying and supply chain issues have extended this way too. Now we are seeing those limits to food items once again that we saw once the pandemic hit.

BC authorities Say Stop Hoarding

BC authorities have urged the public to stop hording because this is only going to make the situation worse. This comes after the province and other parts of the world have already been seeing significant supply chain issues arise after the COVID-19 related lockdowns. In cities that are cut off from the rest of the province because of damage related to the flooding in BC there is also concern about food supply getting low there as well.

Different charities and groups have already stepped up to fly in food supplies to those who are stranded in the region. The federal government has also signaled their dedication to helping the province deal with this recent flooding event. Despite shelves looking a bit empty right now and those food limits in BC coming up once again for some items the BC Truckers Association has said there is no need to panic about any food shortages in Canada.

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Getting The Goods to Where They Need to Be

There are many people working to make sure that the food is going to get to the shelves and it is going to get to those who need it. Despite shelves in certain areas seeing a great amount of empty space it should not take long for them to fill up with food and other items again soon.

Panic Buying Makes it Worse

It is good to remember that during the pandemic a lot of people engaged in panic buying and ended up finding out that they didn’t need all that they had stored up and the same is said to be true this time around as well. It is the panic buying that empties the shelves in BC and makes it so that it becomes difficult to find food and other necessary items and there are plenty of warnings right now for British Columbians not to do it.