With this year’s most powerful storm just hours away from making landfall in Metro Vancouver, city officials are urging caution, preparedness and common sense.
Environment Canada’s forecast is calling for more than 100 mm of rain tonight (Wednesday, Oct. 12) alongside winds that could exceed 80 km/h.
The best thing Vancouverites can do to help manage the deluge is to clear leaves and debris from catch basins and storm drains to prevent flooding.
Other preventative tips include:
- Seal cracks or openings in walls, floors, windows and foundations and seal all window wells.
- Clear eavestroughs and downspouts of leaves and other debris that prevent proper drainage.
- Ensure the grading around your home slopes away from the foundation wall to help drain water away from your home, without negatively affecting neighbouring properties.
- Ensure plumbing and drainage systems are in good working condition. Homeowners are responsible for the plumbing from the property line to inside the home.
City staff didn’t indicate whether additional shelter space would be made available on Wednesday. That information is expected to be forthcoming on Thursday.
Park board chair Sarah Kirby-Yung said Seawall closures aren’t expected, although park board staff will monitor and re-evaluate conditions as the storm progresses.
Operations and urban forestry crews are on standby to address fallen trees and other debris. Kirby-Yung didn’t expect any outright park closures as of Wednesday.
“We don’t anticipate significant impacts on the Seawall at this time, but we do caution residents to take care if they’re venturing out during the storm and stay away from heavily-wooded or treed areas,” she said.
She noted that diseased, unstable or damaged trees are routinely removed from Stanley Park in an effort to avoid the wide-spread devastation experienced during the 2006 windstorm. Kirby-Yung added that park board rangers are also notifying homeless people in Stanley Park of the incoming storm, and providing them with information around shelter options.
After Wednesday’s initial landfall, conditions are expected to worsen on Friday and Saturday.
“At this time it looks like each storm will become more intense,” the Environment Canada alert reads. The city and park board are encouraging residents to follow various social media platforms for information updates: @CityofVancouver and @ParkBoard Twitter accounts or the VanConnect app. Flooding, fallen trees and other issues can be reported by calling 3-1-1.
@JohnKurucz
