VANCOUVER – More than 45,000 BC Hydro customers are without electricity Wednesday morning after a storm lashed the province with heavy rain and strong winds.
BC Hydro is reporting outages in large parts of Langley, Surrey, Richmond Maple Ridge, Vancouver, Pitt Meadows, and New Westminster as of 1:30 a.m. Wednesday morning.
There are also smaller outages reported in parts of Burnaby, Delta, the Sunshine Coast, and along Vancouver Island.
GALLERY: Damage reported across the Lower Mainland due to storm
GALLERY: Map of outages in Metro Vancouver
There were also reports of downed power lines and small fires throughout Metro Vancouver. In Surrey, a large tree fell on top of a home along Highway 10 – but there appear to be no injuries.
“If you’re any area with tress on the edge of the road, boy you’ve got to be careful,” said Surrey RCMP Staff Sgt. Blair McColl.
“I wouldn’t be driving anywhere on the road…trees are dropping everywhere.”
For most of the outages, BC Hydro is giving an estimated time of restoration between 4am and noon – but that could change as the night goes on.
READ: The full list of Power Outages provided by BC Hydro
Environment Canada had said a Pacific frontal system was expected to dump 60-to-100 millimetres of rain by early Wednesday.
READ MORE: Rainfall and wind warning issued for Metro Vancouver
Rainfall warnings had been posted for much of Vancouver Island, Metro Vancouver, the Sunshine Coast, Howe Sound and Whistler.
The agency warned that heavy downpours can cause flash floods, flooding in low-lying areas and possible washouts near rivers, creeks and culverts.
Environment Canada said the region was also being lashed with southeast wind gusts of up to 90 kilometres an hour.
Many people and businesses were preparing on Friday for the possibility of a prolonged storm causing flooding.
WATCH: Jeremy Hunka on storm watch
The wind was expected to ease overnight as the system moved into the BC Interior.
– With files from Canadian Press
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