Environment Canada has issued various weather warnings and statements for parts of B.C., including Vancouver Island.
The weather agency says another storm is to arrive on the west coast today (Wednesday), bringing heavy rain and winds.
On the North Island, especially near Port Alice, forecasters are calling for 50 to 100 mm of rainfall this afternoon into tomorrow.
Together with strong winds of 90 km/hr, set to ease sometime tonight, locals should brace for power outages, building damage and localized flooding.
“Loose objects may be tossed by the wind and cause injury or damage,” Environment Canada says. “Watch for possible washouts near rivers, creeks and culverts.”
Meanwhile, it’s a similar story on West Vancouver Island. Only there, people will likely face heavy winds and even more rain.
In this region, 100 to 150 mm is expected to fall tonight through tomorrow, especially from Ucluelet northwards.
“Additionally, freezing levels will rise above mountain tops on Thursday, and Highway 4 through the mountains could be affected by snowmelt runoff,” Environment Canada adds.
It’s noted that drivers should practice extra caution, with campers prompted to move away from low-lying areas.
Mainroad says crews will be patrolling on all service area highways until the event passes, roadways are clear and things are back to normal.
No relief from Mother Nature:
Environment Canada is warning that more bad weather is on the way for the flood-stricken southwest.
Two more so-called “atmospheric rivers” are set to arrive in the region; the first on Thursday, the second on Saturday.
And while the rainfall totals likely won’t be as high as seen last week, it could lead to more flooding and landslides.
But Minister of Public Safety Mike Farnworth is staying positive. He told reporters that the province is prepared.
“More than four million sandbags are ready to be deployed with nearly 200,000 deployed so far – 45,000 at the Barrowtown Pump alone,” Farnworth said.
“Through tireless effort, rail service is gradually being repaired with CP reporting that shipments will be resuming today (Tuesday), while CN is working on the same for tomorrow.”
Farnworth noted that the next nine to ten days could be “quite challenging.”
“Environment and Climate Change Canada has warned us about a series of storms and we all need to pay close attention to the experts as the forecasts for these will be more accurate the closer we get to those events,” he added.
