A city on the eastern shores of Vancouver Island declared a state of emergency Monday in response to major flooding.
Courtenay Mayor Greg Phelps issued the warning because of high water levels in the Puntledge, Courtenay, Tsolum and Browns Rivers.
The Courtenay Engineering Department evacuated 54 people around Maple Pool Campsite and surrounding homes on Headquarters Road. More residences were on evacuation alert.
Numerous roads and bridges were closed just before noon, including Highway 19A and Old Island Highway.
On Monday evening, officials said that the roads had reopened and that water levels in the rivers had dropped significantly. No widespread flooding was anticipated.
Two evacuation receptions centres were set up, the first at a Salvation Army Church on Fitzgerald Avenue, and a second at Comox Presbyterian Church on Aspen Road.
Officials asked residents not to go to the churches unless they were evacuated from their homes.
Island hit hard
A major frontal weather system moving through B.C.'s south coast caused multiple power outages and floods.
Heavy rain, combined with snow melt, prompted flood warnings for multiple Vancouver Island rivers. As of late Monday afternoon, they included the Salmon River at Sayward, Oyster River (south of Campbell River), Tsolum River (Courtney), Englishman River (Parksville), Nanaimo River, Chemainus River, Cowichan River and Koksilah River (Mill Bay).
Some parts of the Island recorded a couple hundred millimeters of rain over the past day and a half.
The Nanaimo and Cowichan Rivers were near two-year return period levels and were rising.
Environment Canada said the coast will continue to be whipped with a strong frontal system, bringing an additional 30 to 90 millimeters of rain to the already soggy coastal region in the next 24 hours.
Metro Vancouver
Metro Vancouver, the North Shore and Howe Sound were not hit as hard. As of Monday night, forecasters were not expecting widespread flooding in any of those areas.
