Cleanup is underway across B.C.’s south coast Saturday after a strong windstorm led to power outages and ferry cancellations.
In Surrey, a mother and her child are recovering after powerful gusts caused a tree to collapse onto their car. The family was trapped for several minutes until fire crews were able to extract them from the wreckage. They were taken to hospital with minor injuries.
In East Vancouver, gusts of up to 70 kilometres per hour led to the partial collapse of a building at Pender Street and Gore Avenue. Several surrounding homes were damaged but no one was injured.
WATCH: Dangerous winds hit B.C.’s south coast
The storm also made for rough seas, forcing B.C. Ferries to cancel to all sailings between the mainland and Vancouver Island on Friday.
Friday’s delays causing many of Saturday’s sailings to fill up quickly. The 7:00, 9:00 and 11:00 a.m. sailings from Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay are all completely full due mostly to the backlog of passengers stranded during the windstorm. Many passengers have been waiting since Friday afternoon to board a ferry. Travellers are being warned to check their sailings before heading out Saturday.
Several hundred homes, mostly on Vancouver Island, are still in the dark on Saturday morning.
BC Hydro crews have made significant progress in the Lower Mainland with just over a dozen customers affected. Over 800 customers are in the dark on the northern part of Vancouver Island and 150 are without power on the southern part of the island.
Others parts of B.C. have also been hit by inclement weather.
On Friday afternoon, a landslide sent boulders and trees through two homes in the small community of Tappen in the Shuswap. A mother and son inside one of the homes were caught up in the debris and were taken to hospital with minor injuries. Two more homes have now been evacuated and the area remains closed off as of Saturday morning.
WATCH: Mother and son survive mudslide in Shuswap
– With files from Jill Slattery
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