The B.C. government says it will take weeks to repair extensive road damage caused by torrential rains in the northeast of the province.

Bridges were washed away, roadbeds crumbled, railway lines were washed out and sinkholes opened in highways across the Peace Region after the deluge, which dumped 130 millimetres of rain in some areas between last Thursday and Sunday.

Sinkholes big enough to swallow trucks opened up in B.C.'s Peace Region on the weekend. CBC B.C. Transportation Minister Blair Lekstrom, who's also MLA for the South Peace, got a look at some of the damage Monday.

"You can't really prepare for an event like this," Lekstrom said. "We have a pretty good road structure and it's lasted us and treated us very well. But when Mother Nature acts like she just has, I don't think all the planning in the world could accommodate us for this."

The transportation ministry said there's damage at 58 sites on more than 40 roads, including 16 segments of Highway 97 near Chetwynd. As a result, the highway is closed between Chetwynd and Mackenzie Junction.

Highway 29 is also closed between Hudson's Hope and Chetwynd and several other routes in the region are also blocked.

The only route from B.C.'s central Interior to the northeast runs over the Rockies and through Alberta and adds seven hours to the journey.

Emergency compensation possible

The government says engineers are assessing the damage, developing plans to fix the problems and mobilizing crews and equipment.

Washed-out bridges have closed a huge section of highway. CBC The heavy rain also caused flooding damage in Chetwynd, but no one was hurt, although about 20 people are still out of their homes.

Chetwynd's mayor estimates the damage at $1 million, while Dawson Creek fire chief Gordon Smith said it's too soon to tell what the tally will be in his community.

"Sometimes it takes a while for people to clean up and figure out how much damage they have in their homes or their properties," said Smith. "So right now, it's hard to assess that at all."

Crews from several B.C. ministries are still on the ground assessing whether victims of this flood qualify for compensation through the provincial emergency program.

With files from The Canadian Press and the CBC's Lisa Johnson