One person is dead after two vehicles were trapped by a fallen tree as the second in a series of storms pelted British Columbia’s Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island.
asserted
second → trap → Mainland
Surrey police say they received a report of wires down across Highway 10 west of 184 Street at 7:58 p.m. Saturday.
asserted
they → say → 7:58
When police arrived, they found wires and a tree down in the area with two vehicles trapped.
Surrey Fire Service and emergency officials responded, but despite life saving medical treatment, one of the drivers died at the scene.
asserted
one → arrive → scene
The driver of the other vehicle received minor injuries and was not transported to hospital.
asserted
driver → receive → hospital
BC Hydro and city crews worked to clear debris and address hazards from the downed power lines, one of many areas in the province hydro crews attended.
asserted
crews → work → province
Thousands of British Columbians remained without power as of 7 a.m. local time, BC Hydro said in a news release Sunday morning.
asserted
Hydro → remain → release
Approximately 135,000 residents had no power at the height of the storm about 1 a.m. local time Sunday.
asserted
residents → have → storm
That number had dropped to about 63,000 as of 7 a.m.
Surrey, Duncan, Port Hardy and Prince George were among the hardest hit, according to BC Hydro.
uncertain
Surrey → drop → Hydro
Those areas saw strong winds bring down branches and trees that damaged power lines, poles and other electrical equipment.
asserted
that → see → lines
Sunday’s power outages add to the more than 380,000 outages seen since Friday when the first of the storms started to hit the province.
asserted
first → add → province
Approximately 317,000 customers have had their power restored so far, but winds are not expected to subside until later in the day, causing additional concern in some areas.
asserted
winds → have → areas
“We prepared for this storm and had crews and resources ready to respond immediately,” said Whitney Deane, spokesperson for BC Hydro.
asserted
Deane → prepare → Hydro
“Our crews are making good progress, but with strong winds continuing this morning, we expect to see additional damage and outages before conditions improve.”
asserted
conditions → make → damage
The utility says it will provide updated restoration estimates as crews reach outage locations, but reminds people to stay at least 10 metres away from downed, damaged or low-hanging power lines and call 911 to report them.
asserted
crews → say → them
This weekend’s storms have been the result of successive atmospheric rivers making their way across B.C. Coastal communities have been warned of rising water levels, while the mainland is facing damaging winds.
asserted
mainland → make → winds
Environment Canada has issued a slew of wind and rainfall warnings for the island and Lower Mainland, with winds expected to gust up to 90 km/h.
asserted
winds → issue → km
Rainfall amounts of up to 50 mm could be seen in some areas including parts of Metro Vancouver along the North Shore.
uncertain
amounts → see → Shore
Special weather statements have also been forecast for the B.C. Interior including the Cariboo, Fraser Canyon, 100 Mile House, South Thompson, the Coquihalla Highway and the Okanagan Connector.
asserted
statements → forecast → Cariboo
The statement says wind gusts ranging from 60 to 80 km/h will blow through, but cautions winds will ease slightly before an incoming cold front brings a strong push of up to 90 km/h gusts late this morning for western regions.
asserted
front → say → regions
The winds will ease by this evening.
asserted
winds → ease → evening
After cautioning of potential cancellations Saturday, most BC Ferries services are operating Sunday.
asserted
services → caution → cancellations
Those between Metro Vancouver and Nanaimo are proceeding, while the departures from Swartz Bay and Tsawwassen are also operating.
asserted
departures → proceed → Bay
A third storm expected to hit Monday may bring a more prolonged period of rainfall across B.C.’s coast through next week, Environment Canada said.
uncertain
Canada → expect → week
The Aporia
