The trio of storms that hit the Sunshine Coast last week didn’t live up to the dire predictions, but they were far from harmless.
Forecasters warned that the biggest of the storms, which hit Saturday, Oct. 15, had the potential to be as bad as the 2006 storms that caused extensive damage along the B.C. coast, or even 1962’s Typhoon Freda.
The first of the storms reached the area Wednesday night, Oct. 12, with wind gusts as high as 50 km/hr at the Sechelt Airport. On Friday, when the second storm came through, Environment Canada recorded gusts of up to 65 km/h. Maximum winds Saturday night were closer to 45 km/h.
The heaviest rainfall at the Sechelt weather station was 31 mm recorded on Friday. Environment Canada said there was a total of 60 mm over the course of the storm cycle.
The rain was much heavier in areas around Howe Sound. The Port Mellon weather station recorded a total of 242 mm, with 109 mm falling on Oct. 14 alone. High stream flows led to a washout along the Port Mellon Highway at Dakota Creek.
Howe Sound also saw stronger winds, with gusts as high as 90 km/hr at Pam Rocks on Saturday.
The Oct. 15 storm swept through during very high tides (4.6 m), leading to spectacular scenes of waves crashing over the Davis Bay Seawalk and onto the front yards of houses along the Gibsons waterfront near Armours Beach.
BC Hydro took the precaution of bringing in extra crews for the weekend. BC Hydro community relations manager Ted Olynyk said the Sechelt area was one of the hardest hit on Saturday, and at the peak of that storm 8,200 customers were off the grid. Nine crews were at work over 36 hours to restore the power.
There were also reports of at least one house in Sechelt being damaged by a falling tree, and lots of logs and debris washing up on area beaches.
The cold weather emergency shelter for the homeless opened ahead of its usual Nov. 1 start date to offer people a place to stay during the storm. Coordinator Alicia Ladouceur of RainCity Housing said the 15 beds at St. Hilda’s Anglican Church in Sechelt were full most of the weekend. The shelter now plans to stay open from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. for the rest of the month, and expand its hours starting Nov. 1.
