Strong wind and torrential rain rocked parts of British Columbia on Thursday night, leaving thousands without power and hampering travel in several areas on Friday morning.
According to B.C. Hydro, thousands of people were without power on Vancouver Island, the central Interior and in northern B.C. as a frontal system moved south through the province overnight.
As of Friday evening, more than 7,500 people — primarily in the Lower Mainland and central Interior — remained without power.
Road washouts, Port Hardy rescue
DriveBC is reporting landslides and road washouts on northern Vancouver Island, including on Head Bay Road between Gold River Road and Tlupana Road, and on Holberg Road in Port Hardy.
Port Hardy RCMP said rising floodwater and debris meant they had to call for assistance from rescuers after an SOS came in. (CBC)
Police say eight people were rescued by air from a flash flood on Vancouver Island as the province was lashed with rain.
The incident occurred on Holberg Road, which is north of Winter Harbour, where B.C. Hydro reported that a landslide had knocked out power lines.
Port Hardy RCMP say they received an iPhone SOS saying that two people were trapped near San Josef Bay due to flash flooding.
A group travelling in an RV stopped to help, but also ended up trapped, police said.
But because of rising floodwater and debris, police weren’t able to help, so they called for assistance from rescuers.
The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Victoria said it was alerted to the incident at 10:30 p.m. PT on Thursday.
Lt.-Col. Claude Rivard of 442 Squadron, a Royal Canadian Air Force search-and-rescue unit, said his squadron was in the middle of a training flight when they got the call that people needed rescuing.
He said they sent a helicopter out — in heavy rain and the dark of night — to retrieve them.
B.C. Emergency Health Services said two ambulances were sent to the Port Hardy airport, where Squadron 442 was taking those who had been rescued.
None were taken to hospital, information officer Brian Twaites said in a statement.
Head Bay Road has opened to single-lane alternating traffic, while Holberg Road remains closed, as of 2:30 p.m. PT Friday.
People make their way through the rain in Vancouver on Friday. (Ben Nelms/CBC)
Ferry conditions
B.C. Ferries cancelled sailings between Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland on Friday morning due to high winds in the Strait of Georgia.
The ferry service said anyone who had a reservation on one of the cancelled sailings would be contacted by its customer service centre to try to get them on an alternate sailing later in the day or to cancel their booking.
Hullo Ferries did not appear to have cancellations Friday, but has posted a notice on its website stating that adverse weather may impact sailings.
Environment Canada data shows that 139 millimetres of rain fell on Sartine Island Thursday into Friday morning, while Tahsis on Vancouver Island’s west coast was drenched by 134 millimetres.
The B.C. River Forecast Centre has downgraded a flood warning for rivers in the Terrace and Kitimat areas of the north coast, replacing it with a high streamflow advisory that spans the entire coast, including Vancouver Island.
A high streamflow advisory means that minor flooding in low-lying areas is possible, while a flood warning would have indicated that flooding was imminent.
The storm system is expected to move out of the province on Friday, but rainfall warnings and special weather statements remain in effect for Metro Vancouver, with up to another 70 millimetres forecast.
