After Tuesday’s intense wind storm, BC Hydro is reminding Okanagan residents to be prepared for weather-related power outages.
The hydro giant has issued a news release saying with more stormy weather expected this week, residents need to be ready in the event of a power loss.
Tuesday’s powerful wind storm brought down trees and powerlines knocking out electricity to about 9,000 customers in the Okanagan alone.
BC Hydro encourages all residents to have an emergency kit ready that should include the following:
- flashlight
- extra batteries
- first-aid kit
- ready-to-eat non-perishable foods
- bottled water
Residents should also know how to access information on outages on their mobile-devices during outages.
FortisBC customers can click here for the latest updates on outages and BC Hydro customers can click here.
Residents are also being reminded about the dangers of damaged electrical equipment such as fallen powerlines, which should always be considered dangerous even if they are not smoking, sparking or making a buzzing sound. People should always stay at least 10 metres away from a fallen powerline, the length of a bus, and call 911.