On the night of November 15, 2021, British Columbia’s Nicola River sounded like thunder.

Boulders boomed beneath a raging current that was bursting its banks, taking out everything in its path.

Residents along Highway 8 were devastated by the destruction. But they were not alone.

Communities all over southwest British Columbia felt the impact of flooding and landslides unleashed by an “atmospheric river” rainstorm. 

It was the costliest disaster in the province’s history, resulting in an estimated $13 billion worth of damage.

Yet no place experienced flooding like the Nicola Valley, a dry-belt area that rarely sees extreme rain.

On the one-year anniversary, J.B. MacKinnon recounts an extraordinary flood that laid waste to homes and lives—and the idea that we can control nature.