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Environment Canada has issued significant rainfall warnings in low-lying parts of southwestern British Columbia as major flood cleanup continues in some areas.
The new round of rainfall follows a storm from last week that flooded farms and homes in B.C.’s Fraser Valley, caused evacuation orders and closed highways.
Here’s the latest:
Environment Canada is forecasting up to 70 millimetres of rain in areas including Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley for Tuesday, lasting into Wednesday morning.
Cleanup started Monday in the Fraser Valley as water that flowed across the border from the Nooksack River in Washington state began to recede, but the flood threat remains for several B.C. rivers and has expanded to Metro Vancouver’s North Shore.
B.C. Emergency Management Minister Kelly Greene said Monday that heavy rain in the province’s South Coast created “increased flood and landslide risk” on the North Shore.
Greene said residents should avoid riverbanks and waterways as the water levels are high and the banks may not be stable.
Here’s some more info about how our crews prioritize power outage restoration during <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/BCStorm?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#BCStorm</a>: <a href=”https://t.co/5QRBHw6T86″>https://t.co/5QRBHw6T86</a><br><br>Find the latest updates on our mobile site: <a href=”https://t.co/8IIRZJ3vC7″>https://t.co/8IIRZJ3vC7</a> <a href=”https://t.co/xp9UsCgX5T”>pic.twitter.com/xp9UsCgX5T</a>
—bchydro
B.C. Hydro said it was making progress Tuesday morning on restoring power to customers across the province who remain without service due to strong winds brought on by the latest storm.
It said on its website that at its peak on Monday, more than 90,000 customers were without power, with the hardest hit areas in Squamish, Duncan and Hope.
Weather records fall
Environment Canada data shows Monday was unseasonably warm. More than two dozen communities set new daily high temperature records in B.C.
Kamloops recorded a high of 18.6 C, breaking a record of 13.3 C set in 1962. It was 16.8 C at the Victoria International Airport on Monday, which eclipsed the previous record of 14.3 C set in 1999.
Temperatures were in the mid-teens for many parts of the province.
Meanwhile, Environment Canada says 190 millimetres of rain fell in Squamish, and 163 millimetres fell in Zeballos, on northwest Vancouver Island.
