Metro Vancouver hit with massive flooding, road closures on the day of B.C. provincial election

A powerful atmospheric river caused street flooding in parts of Metro Vancouver Saturday, closing some roads and soaking voters headed to the polls in B.C.'s provincial election.

North Shore Emergency Management has opened a reception centre for residents of North Vancouver and West Vancouver displaced by the storm.

There are no evacuation orders or alerts in place, but videos posted online show floodwaters encroaching on homes and businesses in multiple locations on the North Shore.

The reception centre is located at Mickey McDougall Recreation Centre, 240 E. 23rd St. in North Vancouver.

NSEM called its region "the epicentre" of the storm, saying in a statement that the volume of rain was "overwhelming" storm drainage systems in the municipalities it covers.

"There is overland flooding across the North Shore," the statement reads, advising residents to avoid unnecessary travel and "stay away from trails near streams, creeks and rivers and steep slopes."

Gallant Avenue in Deep Cove became a torrent of rushing water, with video from the scene showing some businesses attempting to erect barriers to divert the water away from their doors.

'Straight into our house'

West Vancouver police shared video of muddy water and debris flowing down the steep hill of 21st Street near Queens Avenue.

Ross Dick-Cleland's house was in the path of the flood.

"About 8:15 this morning, the stream burst up on 21st," Dick-Cleland told CTV News.

"So the water all came raging down 21st and and Queens – that we're on – and came straight into our house."

He said more than a dozen friends and neighbours pitched in to help divert the flow of the water away from the home.

"We're used to the rain here and we're used to some water, but I've never seen – there were two-foot boulders getting swept down the street," he said.

Now, Dick-Cleland is beginning the cleanup process.

"Our retaining wall's gone, but no one's hurt and the building'll be fine, so altogether OK," he said.

Both the east and westbound on-ramps to Highway 1 from 21st Avenue were closed due to flooding, police said.

Farther down the hill in Ambleside Park, video shared with CTV News shows water shooting out from a manhole cover.

In West Vancouver, video shared with CTV News shows water shooting out from a manhole cover at Ambleside Park. (CTV News)

Elsewhere on the North Shore, video posted on social media shows McKay Creek transformed into churning rapids.

182mm rain in under 24 hrs
by u/km3t in NorthVancouver

"If you are experiencing flooding in your home, and it is significant, please shut off the power if it is safe to do so and call 911," North Shore Emergency Management said.

"Emergency responders are prioritizing calls and response." 

East Vancouver, Burnaby and Surrey

In East Vancouver, the intersection of Nanaimo and McGill streets was partially underwater.

Nanaimo & McGill Flooding
by u/sistyc in vancouver

Mounties in Surrey closed the intersection of 76 Avenue and 152 Street due to significant flooding.

"Several vehicles attempted to drive through the water, but became disabled," Surrey RCMP said in a statement Saturday morning.

"Water at the location is approximately waist high. The intersection is currently blocked off."

• In Pictures: Election day flooding in Metro Vancouver

Police also advised the public to stay away from the intersection of King George Boulevard and 128 Street, where pooling water in the southbound lanes from the Pattullo Bridge reduced traffic to a single lane.

It was a similar scene in the Still Creek area of Burnaby, where CTV News cameras located several submerged vehicles.

One car appeared to be floating, and the water was up to the windows of a parked minivan.

Low-lying areas of the city are seeing “significant” flooding, Burnaby staffers said in an information bulletin in the afternoon.

The City of Burnaby said crews are putting sandbags down at sanitary sewer stations along Still Creek.

The city asked residents to stay away from rivers and streams, and to clear any leaves or debris from curb gutters and catch basins on their street.

“Conditions may be unsafe in affected areas due to water pooling on roads and swollen creeks and rivers. People travelling around the city should expect impacts to traffic and transit, and roads may be closed temporarily until conditions improve,” the notice reads.  

Langley sinkhole

In Langley, local Mounties advised that they had been called to "a possible sinkhole developing on 40th Avenue" between 216 and 212 streets.

"Heavy rainfall within the past 24 hours has compromised the stability of the roadway on 40th Avenue between 216 Street and 212 Street," said Cpl. Zynal Sharoom of the Langley RCMP, in a news release.

"Motorists, cyclists and pedestrians are being advised to avoid the area and find alternate routes."

Langley RCMP shared this photo of a "possible sinkhole developing on 40th Avenue" Saturday. The road has been closed to traffic. (Langley RCMP)

DriveBC reported several vehicle incidents and road closures due to flooding, and advised motorists to proceed with caution due to pooling water.

"Posted speed limits are for ideal conditions," the agency said on social media. 

Rainfall and flood warnings

BC Hydro reported as many as 7,700 customers without power in the Lower Mainland and on the Sunshine Coast during the day Saturday.

Outages affected polling stations in Langley and on the Gulf Islands, according to Elections BC, which said it had to switch to manual voting until power was restored. 

Rainfall warnings have been in effect for most of Vancouver Island, the Lower Mainland and the south and central coasts since Friday.

Environment and Climate Change Canada said the first atmospheric river of the season is expected to bring up to 120 millimetres of rain to west and inland Vancouver Island on Saturday and into Sunday, with 150 millimetres expected near Vancouver Island's coast and more than 250 millimetres forecast over mountainous terrain.

Metro Vancouver and the Sea-to-Sky corridor may get up to 150 millimetres of rain, with precipitation amounts exceeding 180 millimetres expected over the North Shore Mountains, according to the weather agency.

The atmospheric river will also roll over B.C.'s southern Interior, with prolonged periods of heavy rain expected to persist through Sunday.

The rain has also prompted flood watches and warnings from the B.C. River Forecast Centre.

On Friday, the centre issued flood watches for several rivers along the central and south coasts, Lower Fraser tributaries, waterways in Metro Vancouver and on Vancouver Island.

It upgraded those watches to warnings on Saturday for the Coquitlam River and parts of the west coast of Vancouver Island near Tofino, Bamfield and Port Renfrew. 

The City of Port Coquitlam joined the North Shore in opening a reception centre Saturday.

• Read more: Flood warnings in effect due to B.C. storm

According to the river forecast centre, a flood watch means "river levels are rising and will approach or may exceed bankfull," and flooding may occur.

Flood warnings mean "river levels have exceeded bankfull or will exceed bankfull imminently," and flooding of adjacent areas is inevitable. 

With files from The Canadian Press