British Columbia

North Vancouver rock slide partially blocking Seymour River

North Vancouver District officials confirm there has been a rock slide into the Seymour River at Twin Bridges near the top of Riverside Drive.

Upper Riverside Drive closed for fear of flooding, but no evacuations

Boulders narrow the Seymour River one kilometre up the road from Riverside Drive and with heavy rain on the way, officials are concerned about flooding. (CBC)

North Vancouver District officials are dealing with a large rock slide into the Seymour River at Twin Bridges near the top of Riverside Drive.

If you look at the rock down there, it looks like the whole canyon face just came down'- North Vancouver resident Vanessa Iverson

Mainly rocky debris including some boulders the size of a house has partially blocked the Seymour River.

The slide has so far posed no hazard to homes along Riverside Drive and there are no current plans to evacuate the area.

This picture from local resident Jim Mulleder who was out on one of the trails for a run shows water rising at Twin Bridges. (submitted by Jim Mulleder)
Witnesses said the area round the rock slide has formed a small lake, and while the water levels are rising near Twin Bridges, the water is flowing over the top of the boulders alleviating the backlog to some extent.

Blog of the day's events

District staff were on site all day Sunday. Earlier in the day they sent out this tweet asking people to stay away from Fisherman's Trail, Baden Powell Trail and Twin Bridges.

Size of rock slide amazing says resident

Lara Wollitzer, who took a walk up the trail to see for herself said the sheer size of the rock slide is amazing, and the water that's backing up as a result is "scary."

Large boulders partially block the Seymour River where a large rock slide came down early Sunday. (submitted by Vanessa Iverson)

"We went up to the bridge up top and the water is right up to the girders," she said. "There's another 20-30 feet of water in this canyon so it will be interesting how they manage this little dam they've got going on."

"it is massive. It's a wall of rock that's blocking the canyon down there. The canyon is backing up slowly so as you go further up the river, the river is lower, but it's very deep here. It's a significant event. It's going to change the scope of the river, I believe,

If you look at the rock down there, it looks like the whole canyon face just came down, said her friend Vanessa Iverson. And there's a whole new waterfall coming down there."

North Vancouver District resident John Austin lives in the 2400 block of Riverside Drive, one kilometre from the slide. He said he was concerned he might have to evacuate, but was quickly told the the situation was stable.

With a new weather system moving in and heavy rains expected over the next three days, the biggest concern is flooding.

On mobile? Click here to watch the interview with homeowner John Austin

On mobile? Click here for a map of the 2400 block of Riverside Drive, North Vancouver

With files from the CBC's Jeff Harrington