Over 25,000 BC Hydro customers are without power Tuesday afternoon, the result of a strong wind storm moving through the region. Trees across wires, such as this one on Departure Bay Rd. in Nanaimo, were a cause of many outages. (Image Credit: Jade Coral)
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strong winds
Mar 24, 2026 | 4:20 PM
NANAIMO — A strong windstorm has cut thousands of residents across the mid-Island off the grid.
BC Hydro reports around 40,000 customers on central and northern Vancouver Island were without electricity as of 5 p.m. on Tuesday, March 24, largely due to wind storms impacting wires and trees nearby.
The largest outage in the region encompassed the northern areas of Parksville and French Creek, where just over 3,000 properties were without power.
A further 2,700 homes and businesses were in the dark in Qualicum Beach.
