City of Vancouver asks residents to help clear catch basins during storm season

The City of Vancouver is asking for your help to prevent roads from flooding during rainstorm season this fall.

Jerry Dobrovolny, General Manager of Engineering with the city, said there are thousands of catch basins in the city that need to be cleared of leaves.

He said there are more than 100,000 trees in the city and 40,000 catch basins.

“Most of the localized flooding we see is from catch basins getting plugged,” said Dobrovolny. “There’s no way, even with our crews working 24/7, that we can keep them clear all the time.”

WATCH: Flooding in Gilmore, Burnaby

1:28 Glimore flooding in Burnaby

Some low-lying areas in Vancouver and Burnaby saw roads become virtual rivers on several occasions earlier this week, as Metro Vancouver was struck by three consecutive storms.

Last Wednesday more than 3,500 BC Hydro customers were without power throughout the Lower Mainland and the Sunshine Coast.

The City of Vancouver’s 311 call centre was also slammed with weather-related calls, prompting the city to ask people not to call unless it was an emergency.