UPDATE: Friday, Oct. 7 – For the latest on the storm click here.
Story from Thursday, Oct.6:
Over 40,000 customers on B.C.’s South Coast are without power Thursday night due to a powerful wind and rain storm that began in the early evening.
BC Hydro is attending to power outages across the Lower Mainland, Gulf Islands, Sunshine Coast, and Vancouver Island as winds hit gusts of up to 90 km/h near the water, according to Environment Canada.
The bulk of outages are in Metro Vancouver and the Sunshine Coast. By 11:30 p.m., over 27,000 customers in those regions were without power, and growing.
West Vancouver Police also shut down Highway 99 in both directions north of Horseshoe Bay due to power lines down across the road. At time of publication, there was no word on when the highway would reopen.
A wind warning was also issued for Metro Vancouver for “strong winds that may cause damage.”
The warning said the winds will sustain until the early morning hours before easing.
In addition to wind, Metro Vancouver will see about 30 to 50 mm of rain overnight.
Several BC Ferries sailings were cancelled Thursday evening in light of the weather. The 8:15 p.m. and 10:45 p.m. sailings between Tsawwassen to Duke Point were cancelled.
– with files from The Canadian Press
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