The south coast of the Canadian province of British Columbia is being battered by a series of powerful Pacific storms and atmospheric rivers. New cyclones have brought winds gusting up to 90 kilometres per hour, B.C. Ferries cancellations and widespread power outages that affected about 80,000 BC Hydro customers at the height of the bad weather. In the village of Zeballos on Vancouver Island, a state of emergency was declared because of the risk of landslides, and 22 properties were evacuated. Forecasters are warning of more rain—up to 200 millimetres early in the week—following 210 millimetres that have already fallen and amid the threat of flooding. Officials and utility workers are urging residents to prepare for further disruptions, check ferry status and keep a 72-hour emergency kit ready.
New Storm Hits Southern B.C.: Winds, Ferry Cancellations and More Outages
The south coast of the Canadian province of British Columbia is bracing for a second round of powerful winds in just a few days. After Friday’s storm knocked out power to tens of thousands of homes and toppled trees, forecasters are warning of another powerful cyclone. Officials and utility providers are asking residents to prepare for further damage to power lines, while B.C. Ferries has already cancelled a number of sailings. It is a typical example of how a series of Pacific storms—atmospheric rivers—tests the region’s infrastructure.
According to CBC News, on Saturday B.C. Ferries cancelled evening sailings between Tsawwassen and Swartz Bay (at 7 and 9 p.m. Pacific time), as well as some sailings on smaller routes. The cancellations were due to forecast high winds and waves. Travellers are advised to check the company’s website for current conditions before heading to the terminal. Cancellations began on Friday, causing delays into the evening as the company tried to get back on schedule. A B.C. Ferries spokesperson stressed that safety is always the priority and that passengers on cancelled sailings would be offered rebooking or refunds.
Environment and Climate Change Canada issued wind warnings for most of Vancouver Island, including Victoria, as well as Metro Vancouver, the Southern Gulf Islands, the Sunshine Coast and the Fraser Canyon. Southeasterly winds of about 70 kilometres per hour, with gusts up to 90 kilometres per hour, are expected on Saturday afternoon. Officials warn of possible power outages and flying debris; the winds should ease closer to midnight. A separate special weather statement is in effect for a large area of the province’s interior, from Hope in the south to Burns Lake in the north. There, gusts could reach 60–80 kilometres per hour and strengthen by Sunday morning as a new cold front moves through.
BC Hydro is warning of further outages. About 40,000 customers were without power Saturday morning—fewer than at the height of Friday’s storm, when about 80,000 people lost electricity. At the worst point, more than 30,000 people on Vancouver Island alone were without power. The storm also brought down trees in the central and northern interior, cutting power to about 23,000 customers in 100 Mile House, Williams Lake, Quesnel and Vanderhoof. At one point, a third of Prince George was without electricity. “What we saw on Friday was a storm that came in waves,” said BC Hydro spokesperson Whitney Dean. “New outages were happening just as we were restoring power in another area. Crews were very busy.” Restoring power remains the top priority, but the utility is also preparing for potentially stronger winds on Saturday. Dean urged residents to keep a 72-hour emergency kit, including batteries and flashlights.
Flooding is another concern. The B.C. River Forecast Centre issued high streamflow advisories for much of Vancouver Island, the south and central coasts, including the Sea-to-Sky region and the lower Fraser River basin. According to the centre, up to 210 millimetres of rain has fallen in parts of the island since Thursday, as a series of atmospheric rivers swept across the coast. These systems could coincide with high tides and flood low-lying coastal areas, while water levels in rivers in the north and west of Vancouver Island are rising rapidly. The weather service has also issued a coastal flood statement for much of the island’s west coast: elevated ocean levels combined with strong winds and waves could push water above the highest astronomical tides. Minor flooding in low-lying coastal areas is possible over the weekend.
A few terms help put the situation in context. An “atmospheric river” is a narrow band in the atmosphere that carries huge amounts of water vapour from the tropics toward higher latitudes; when it reaches the coast, it can bring prolonged heavy rain. “High streamflow” means that water levels in rivers and streams have risen to dangerous levels, potentially causing them to overflow their banks. An “astronomical tide” is the highest tide level calculated from the movements of the Moon and Sun; when storm surge and waves are added, water can spill onto low-lying land. Finally, a “special weather statement” is an official alert about potentially dangerous weather, but one that is less urgent than a warning.
The main takeaway is simple: the region is facing not one storm but a succession of systems, and the chief danger lies less in the wind itself than in its cumulative effects. The ground is saturated after 210 millimetres of rain, trees have been weakened, the power system has yet to recover from Friday’s storm, and another cyclone is arriving just a day later. That is why warnings cover wind, power outages and flooding at the same time. The practical advice is clear: check ferry status before travelling, keep a 72-hour emergency kit on hand and stay away from downed power lines. For authorities and utility crews, this is another test of infrastructure resilience in the face of increasingly frequent extreme weather along Canada’s Pacific coast.
Storm Season on Vancouver Island: Zeballos Orders Evacuations, Ferries Cancel Sailings
The first truly major storm of the season hit the British Columbia coast on Friday, and the first alarming sign came not from the sea but from the hillside above the village of Zeballos. Here, in a community of about 125 people in the northwest of Vancouver Island, authorities declared a local state of emergency and ordered 22 properties evacuated because of a landslide risk they judged to pose a threat to people’s lives and safety. Photos shared on social media showed torrents of water rushing down slopes and across roads—images more vivid than any official report. As Times Colonist reports, the village’s main road was washed out at about 3:30 a.m. Friday.
Village councillor Kirsten Aubrey said equipment had been brought in to stabilize the situation and residents had been evacuated. Evacuees were asked to register at the Zeballos fire hall. She said the village still had power late Friday morning, but the wind was “pretty gusty” and rain had been falling steadily for several days. That detail matters: when the ground is already saturated, even a relatively moderate amount of additional rain can trigger a landslide. That is why the evacuation was ordered as a precaution, rather than in response to a disaster that had already occurred.
The weather outlook is troubling—and, worse still, prolonged. Environment Canada had rainfall warnings in effect for western and northern Vancouver Island, forecasting up to 150 millimetres of rain, with some areas expected to receive as much as 10 millimetres per hour. Meteorologist Steve Boychuk said Friday that some parts of the northwest coast had already received 140 millimetres since Thursday. Zeballos and the surrounding area were expected to get a break by Friday evening, but only before another system moved in: about 100 millimetres of rain from Saturday evening into Sunday. A third system is forecast to bring up to 200 millimetres to exposed areas, beginning Monday and continuing “for an extended period.” Boychuk explained the pattern simply and vividly: cyclones form far out over the ocean and then strike the coast one after another. Until the low-pressure area shifts south, the rain will continue “for at least another week.”
The state of emergency was declared not by the municipality itself but by the Strathcona Regional District, which is monitoring flood conditions and landslide risks together with the village. Emergency operations centres have been activated to coordinate the response. In T’Sou-ke, about 15 kilometres away in a straight line, Mayor Allison Stiglitz is watching the Tasis River rise steadily. “The water is quite high,” she said. “The winds have been strong, but other than that, we’re safe in Tasis for now.” It is the cautious optimism of someone who knows the worst may still lie ahead.
The storm has affected the region’s transportation and power infrastructure. Strong winds forced B.C. Ferries to cancel several sailings between Vancouver Island and the mainland on Friday, including all morning crossings between Swartz Bay and Tsawwassen, as well as between Nanaimo and Metro Vancouver. The company said it would try to rebook passengers with reservations on other sailings and refund fees and fares if a booking was cancelled. To ease congestion, it added sailings departing Swartz Bay at 8 p.m. and Tsawwassen at 10 p.m. Other routes were affected too, including those between Denman and Hornby islands, Campbell River and Quathiaski Cove, and Quadra and Cortes islands. By noon Friday, the wind had knocked out power to more than 30,000 BC Hydro customers in the north of Vancouver Island. Dozens of wind-related outages were reported in Campbell River, Comox, Courtenay and the Parksville–Qualicum area. North Cowichan and Duncan were also without power, while about 2,600 customers were affected in the south of the island. BC Hydro strongly advises people to stay away from fallen or damaged power lines and call 911 to report damage.
The hydrological context is also worth noting. On Thursday, the B.C. River Forecast Centre issued high streamflow advisories across southwestern B.C., pointing to a series of atmospheric rivers expected to bring heavy rain through next week. Simply put, an atmospheric river is a long, narrow corridor in the atmosphere that carries huge amounts of moisture from the tropics toward the coast. When the flow reaches the mountains, the air rises, cools and releases its moisture as heavy rain. The danger comes from several such systems arriving in succession, rather than from a single storm: rivers and soil have no time to recover between them, and the risks of flooding and landslides build cumulatively. It is significant that the evacuation in Zeballos was prompted not by flooding itself but by the risk of a landslide. In mountainous terrain where roads have been washed out, this is often the main threat to life. Authorities must act in advance, because once a landslide begins, it may be impossible to evacuate people.
The overall picture is of a region entering storm season not with one but with three successive blows from the elements—and, according to forecasts, the worst may still be ahead, with Monday’s system potentially bringing up to 200 millimetres of rain to exposed areas over an “extended” period. For residents of small coastal communities such as Zeballos and Tasis, that means days of anxious waiting; for transport operators, more possible cancellations; and for utility crews, readiness for renewed widespread outages. The takeaway is simple and stark: in an era when atmospheric rivers arrive in succession, authorities’ ability to evacuate people before a slope gives way—and residents’ willingness to take those warnings seriously—may matter more than any engineering defences.
New Storm Over B.C.: Province Braces for More Outages and Ferry Cancellations
After a difficult Friday, when widespread power outages were reported across British Columbia and ferry sailings were cancelled, utility workers, forecasters and the ferry operator are warning that it is too soon to relax. At the height of Friday’s storm, about 80,000 people were without power, according to BC Hydro. As crews restored power in some areas, falling trees and branches caused new outages elsewhere. BC Hydro spokesperson Whitney Dean said Friday’s storm caused significant damage and the utility is preparing for even more challenging weather in the coming days. Additional weather systems are expected through at least midweek, and gusts could be stronger in some places than those already recorded. Meanwhile, B.C. Ferries announced on Saturday that it had cancelled a number of sailings and warned that many other routes could also be affected. In particular, sailings from Tsawwassen to the Southern Gulf Islands were cancelled because of strong winds and high waves in the Strait of Georgia. As of 10 a.m. Saturday, Environment Canada still had a yellow-level wind warning in effect: dangerous gusts of up to 90 kilometres per hour were expected in Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley that evening, with conditions expected to last until Sunday morning. Environment Canada warns that winds of this strength can damage power lines, roofs and fences, as well as break branches and topple trees. It also cautions that flying debris poses a risk of injury. The situation shows how the effects of a single storm—from fallen trees to homes without power and disrupted transport—can last for several days, or even a week, and why weather warnings during such periods should be taken literally. For residents, this means checking supplies in advance, charging devices and preparing for possible transport disruptions. For utility crews, it means an inevitable race against the elements, with repairs potentially falling behind the next wave of bad weather. A Saturday report by CityNews Vancouver also quotes a BC Hydro warning that some winds may be more destructive than those already observed, making the forecast for midweek a key concern for the entire province.
