Heavy rain and power outages as atmospheric river hits B.C. on election day

Heavy rain drenched the B.C. south coast on Saturday, causing power outages, flash flooding, traffic delays and potentially affecting voter turnout on election day.

The season’s first significant storm is expected to dump 90 to 150 millilitres of rain on Metro Vancouver and parts of the Fraser Valley between Friday and Sunday, said Environment Canada.

Photos: See the atmospheric river in action across Metro Vancouver in photos and videos

About 34.2 mm of rain fell on Vancouver International Airport on Friday, the same amount of precipitation it has received for all of October.

The rain is expected to be heaviest on Saturday, with about 60 to 80 mm expected for Metro Vancouver, and more on the North Shore mountains and in Coquitlam, which already recorded 116 mm of rain by Saturday morning.

Environment Canada has issued a rainfall warning for the B.C. south coast and Vancouver Island.

It said the North Shore mountains could potentially get about 180 mm of rain, while areas along the Sea to Sky corridor could get 90 to 150 mm.

Drivers are warned to be careful on the Sea to Sky Highway and the Coquihalla Highway, which is expected to get about 40 to 70 mm, because of a higher risk of washouts, landslides and rockfall.

A number of buses were detoured from their regular routes on Saturday due to flooding and road blocks across Metro Vancouver.

The Expo Line saw a shuttle train set up briefly between Columbia and Scott Road stations due to a track issue, but service was later restored.

Bus service to Deep Cove was also suspended due to flooding, with the 211 and 212 routes both being detoured around the area.

The 371 to Surrey Central / Scott Road also saw detours.

Some homes and businesses on the North Shore were flooded Saturday as heavy rain persisted Saturday and some creeks and tributaries overflowed their banks.

The District of North Vancouver, City of North Vancouver and District of West Vancouver saw some of the heaviest rainfall in Metro Vancouver.

“The rate the rain came down over the last six to eight hours was enough to overwhelm the capacity of the stormwater systems in certain areas, which caused localized flooding,” said Gord Howard, director of North Shore emergency management and West Vancouver fire chief.

“We’ve had numerous calls from the members of the public from areas that had been flooded and were requesting assistance.”

Hard-hit neighbourhoods include Deep Cove in North Vancouver, where water could be seen running down Gallant Avenue, and Ambleside and Dundarave in West Vancouver.

Engineering crews were out overnight maintaining storm sewers, but the system still got overwhelmed.

On Saturday, city crews and firefighters were working to redirect water, when possible, away from homes and businesses by erecting dams, sandbagging, or pumping the water.

Howard said there have been a few cases of people calling for assistance because of flooding in their homes.

In one case, an occupant of an RV that was parked on W. 3rd Street in North Vancouver had to call for help after the street was inundated.

Another home in North Vancouver, east of Cleveland Park, was also flooded and its residents relocated.

Howard said some areas where there was flooding had cleared as rainfall eased and the stormwater system was able to catch up. However, with rain forecast Saturday afternoon into the evening, more flooding could occur.

“We’ve had instances in the past where we had flooding, but these atmospheric rivers are certainly something that is new for us,” he said, adding that the relatively dry summer meant the ground is inadequately prepared to absorb all the water being dumped by the storm.

Howard advised people to stay home and stay away from rivers, slopes and any flooding that is ankle-deep until the system passes.

North Shore Emergency Management has set up a reception centre for displaced residents at Mickey McDougall Recreation Centre on 240 E. 23rd Street in North Vancouver.

The B.C. River Forecast Centre has issued flood warnings for the Coquitlam River at Port Coquitlam and above Coquitlam Lake as sections of the lower Fraser River threaten to overflow its banks.

A flood warning — which means river levels have exceeded its banks or are expected to overflow imminently — was also in effect on western Vancouver Island, including rivers around Tofino, Port Renfrew and surrounding areas.

There was a rapid rise in river levels Friday and Saturday and the threat is expected to persist into Sunday, said the agency.

Social media posts also appeared to show severe flooding at Coquitlam’s Partington Creek where the overflowing water had sent salmon into the roadways.

“The hazards are most pronounced on West Vancouver Island and into Howe Sound, the North Shore Mountains and Fraser Valley,” it said.

Flows are highest in western Vancouver Island, where water levels could surpass its typical 20-year flow.

“Adjacent areas continue to have the potential for flooding during this period, particularly if the atmospheric river stalls or if spillover occurs from regions with the highest forecast rainfall.

The River Forecast Centre has also issued flood watches for the lower Fraser tributaries, including the Lillooet River and rivers in the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley.

Flood watches are also in effect for other rivers in the region, including on the Sunshine Coast, Howe Sound, and Sea to Sky region.

There were several reports across Metro Vancouver of localized flooding and road closures following Saturday morning’s deluge.

At around 8 a.m. Surrey RCMP cordoned off a flooded 76 Avenue and 152 Street after several vehicles tried to drive through the waist-high waters at the intersection and stalled.

Drivers were asked to avoid King George Boulevard and 128 Street in Surrey because of water pooling on a section of King George Boulevard as southbound traffic exits the Pattullo Bridge near 128 Street.

In West Vancouver, the westbound and eastbound ramps from 21st Street to Highway 1 are closed due to flooding. There was also localized flooding on sections of Highway 1 in Burnaby near Willingdon and along Lougheed Highway in Burnaby and Maple Ridge.

Drivers taking the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge are also being warned of delays, after the westbound right lane was closed due to flooding just north of the span on Saturday afternoon.

Meanwhile, the intersection of Gilmore and Dawson in Burnaby was also closed due to flooding under the SkyTrain overpass.

Overflowing water has caused manholes to pop along Marine Drive from Taylor Way to 24th Street, said West Van police, while in Langley, RCMP have shut down 40th Avenue between 216 Street and 212 Street over concerns of a possible sink hole.

“Heavy rainfall within the past 24 hours has compromised the stability of the roadway,” said Cpl. Zynal Sharoom, who warned motorists, pedestrians and cyclists to avoid the area.

The downpour also created hazardous conditions for pedestrians trying to cross intersections or navigate sidewalks.

Water has been spilling over sidewalks in some areas, including East Hastings and Clark Streets.

Arash Memarzadeh, whose family runs Pomegranate Grillhouse and Cafe, shot a video of water gushing down Gallant Avenue, one of the neighbourhood’s main roads.

It’s “basically a river primarily hitting the north side businesses,” including restaurants, galleries, and a theatre, he said.

Another Deep Cove resident, Frank Luba, reported that Little Creek above Cliffwood Road “normally a clear burbling brook is now a muddy raging torrent.”

More than 6,300 households are without power in the Lower Mainland and the Sunshine Coast.

B.C. Hydro has been dispatching crews to deal with outages in many municipalities, including Surrey, Langley, Pitt Meadows, Coquitlam, West Vancouver, and Gibsons.

Crews are also dealing with outages on Vancouver Island affecting about 2,300 customers.

“With the long dry stretches over the summer we know there’s vegetation that has been weakened by drought making it more susceptible to wind,” said B.C. Hydro spokeswoman Mora Scott on X.

“As a result we could see more dead and damaged trees and branches coming down and potentially causing power outages on our system,” she said.

The adverse weather is also affecting voting places. Some polling stations in Langley, Kamloops, Mayne Island, Denman Island and Hornby Island have been temporarily closed or have delayed openings due to power outages.

Elections B.C. said officials are on-site to direct voters to other locations.

Andrew Watson, senior director of communications for Elections B.C., said it will focus on ensuring it is prepared for bad weather.

“We’ve also been working with B.C. Hydro to make sure that they’re aware of all of our voting place locations so that they can respond quickly if there are any power outages,” he said.

Elections B.C. also has paper backups for all of its systems in case there is a power failure, forcing them to go through manual procedures, Watson said.

The severe weather has forced the cancellation of some B.C. Ferries sailings.

Some sailings between Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver and Departure Bay in Nanaimo were cancelled Friday night.

On Saturday, major routes are operating as scheduled, although there have been some cancellations on the minor Hornby Island and Denman Island route due to absenteeism.

The storm has forced the closure of the City of Vancouver’s sold-out Stanley Park ghost train on Friday and Saturday.

The City said it has decided to close the popular Halloween event for the safety of guests and staff. Ticket holders will be refunded.

The B.C. Lions has also cancelled its pre-game event at Terry Fox Plaza outside B.C. Place due to the storm. The game against the Montreal Alouettes, however, will proceed as scheduled.

[email protected]

Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don’t miss the news you need to know — add VancouverSun.com and TheProvince.com to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here.

You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber: For just $14 a month, you can get unlimited access to The Vancouver Sun, The Province, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Vancouver Sun | The Province.