An atmospheric river weather system is drenching coastal British Columbia, triggering localized flooding as voters head to the polls for the provincial election.
Photos and videos posted to social media show brown floodwaters rushing over streets throughout Metro Vancouver, including West Vancouver, the North Vancouver community of Deep Cove, Surrey, Burnaby, and Port Coquitlam.
The province's River Forecast Centre issued an upgraded flood warning for the Coquitlam River in Metro Vancouver on Saturday morning, while maintaining a warning for waterways on the west coast of Vancouver Island.
Lower-level flood watches span the rest of B.C.'s south and central coast, including the Sea to Sky region and the Lower Fraser River and its tributaries.
The forecast centre says total rainfall recorded since Friday has ranged from 70 to 280 millimetres on western Vancouver Island to 140 millimetres in the Howe Sound region and Metro Vancouver's North Shore mountains.
The BC Hydro outage map shows more than 6,000 customers were without power across the Lower Mainland and the Sunshine Coast, along with nearly 3,000 in the central Interior and about 500 on Vancouver Island.
A handful of voting sites in Kamloops and Langley, as well as on Hornby, Denman and Mayne islands, were temporarily closed in the morning due to power outages.
All have since reopened, and while the electoral office for Port Moody-Burquitlam was experiencing a power outage, Elections BC says the site is open for voters.
Environment Canada says the weather system is expected to bring up to 150 millimetres of rain to parts of Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley and western Vancouver Island through to Sunday, with potential for more in mountainous areas.
In the Metro Vancouver community of Langley, RCMP issued a warning about a possible sinkhole, saying heavy rain had compromised the roadway's stability.
In nearby West Vancouver, police posted a video on the social media platform X showing a surge of brown floodwater flowing down a sloping city street.
BC Ferries warned Saturday that high winds in the forecast could affect service on the North Strait of Georgia and North Vancouver Island, while DriveBC reported a number of highway and road closures due to washouts or flooding.
The atmospheric river will also roll over the province's southern Interior, with prolonged periods of heavy rain expected to persist through Sunday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 19, 2024.
The Canadian Press
