Vancouver closes parts of seawall ahead of forecasted storm surge, king tide

Water levels are forecasted to peak at 9 a.m. when a king tide combines with a storm surge, according to the city’s Boxing Day bulletin.

“As a precautionary measure, the Stanley Park seawall will be closed (Dec. 27) from the Lions Gate Bridge to English Bay, and in front of Kits Pool,” reads Monday’s statement.

Just after 1 a.m. Tuesday, Environment Canada issued a special weather statement for Metro Vancouver, warning of coastal flooding near high tide that morning.

“These water levels can cause damage to coastal infrastructure in low lying areas, especially at locations prone to impacts during similar events in the past,” the statement said.

A 3.5-kilometre section of the Stanley Park seawall had to be closed at the start of this year after being damaged by high tides and extreme weather.

The Vancouver Park Board posted on Twitter Tuesday that early indications suggest “improvements made to protect the Stanley Park Seawall from climate emergencies, similar to last year's catastrophic storm surge, have been successful.”

Now, the city says the Southlands, the Fraser River floodplain, and both Locarno and Spanish banks are flood risk areas, and residents are being advised to prepare to either evacuate or stay indoors on higher levels.

To help the public stay safe, the city says people should not “drive, walk or roll through flood waters,” adding it would be wise to “plan an exit route that does not take you into low lying areas” plus “prepare a grab and go bag with essentials for the next 24 hours or longer.”

City staff have activated an operations centre to monitor the tides and weather, according to the bulletin, plus prepare for the impacts of possible flooding.

“City staff will also be installing electric signs in potentially affected areas today, and going door to door to notify potentially impacted property owners about the risk.”