Storm topples trees, cuts power to thousands in Central Okanagan

A gust of heavy rain and high winds that blew through the Central Okanagan on Monday afternoon left a trail of damage in its wake.

The storm blew down trees and left thousands of B.C. Hydro and Fortis BC customers in Kelowna and West Kelowna without power.

In the wake of the storm, the City of Kelowna put out a statement asking residents to limit their use of social media to ensure emergency responders and evacuees are able to access telecommunications networks.

There have been cellphone service disruptions in B.C. on Monday.

Some mobile networks were damaged and overwhelmed by the flooding, landslides, and evacuations going on across much of southwest British Columbia.

“A request received from Telus asks residents to ‘limit the ‘information gathering’ and social media chatter so the network can support emergency communications.'”

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The city said the “stressed” mobile network is also making it hard for some evacuees from other parts of B.C. to register on their cellphones with Emergency Support Services in Kelowna.