Category 4 Atmospheric River leaves 2 people dead in British Columbia, Canada
Category 4 Atmospheric River (AR) made landfall over British Columbia, Canada on Friday, October 18, 2024, dropping very heavy rain and leaving at least 2 people dead.
Image credit: NOAA/GOES, Zoom Earth, The Watchers. Acquired at 18:30 UTC on October 20, 2024
Category 4 Atmospheric River (AR) made landfall over British Columbia on Friday, dropping record rains and leaving two people dead in Coquitlam after the landslide hit the area.
West Vancouver received 134.6 mm (5 inches) of rain on October 18, breaking the previous daily record of 34.8 mm (1.37 inches) set in 1970.
According to Environment Canada numbers issued Sunday afternoon, October 20, Coquitlam had 256 mm (10.07 inches) of rain since Friday, Tofino received 218 mm (8.5 inches), while West Vancouver saw 190 mm (7.4 inches).
On Vancouver Island, the weather office reported that the Kennedy Lake area north of Ucluelet had received a remarkable 320 mm (12.5 inches) of rain since Friday.
New daily rainfall records have been recorded in Victoria, Squamish, Vancouver, West Vancouver, White Rock, Langley, Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Hope, and Nakusp in the Interior, and Agassiz and Pitt Meadows.
A mudslide destroyed a home in Coquitlam (population 154 528), and authorities are looking for the homeowner and other people who were probably present in the house.
According to a Coquitlam RCMP statement issued Sunday, officers responded to a report of a slide along Quarry Road on the east side of Pinecone Burke Provincial Park at around 12:30 LT on Saturday.
“The mudslide washed away one home, which is believed to have been occupied. Efforts continue to locate the home and resident(s),” says Cpl. Alexa Hodgins. She added, “First responders are in contact with the residents and confirmed that they can shelter in place, but there is no updated timeline as to when the road will be cleared.”
Hodgins says Quarry Road has been damaged and several residents are affected on the other side of the slide.
RCMP reported the second fatality in Port Alberni on Monday saying one person is dead and the second presumed dead following weekend flooding near Bamfield, about 200 km (124 miles) by road northwest of Victoria.
Meanwhile, the River Forecast Centre in British Columbia decreased flood advisories for the Coquitlam River and southern Vancouver Island waterways on Sunday.
Lower-level flood watches are in effect for the southern half of Vancouver Island and the rest of the province’s south coast, which includes the Sunshine Coast, Metro Vancouver, the Sea to Sky corridor, and the Lower Fraser River and its tributaries.
References:
1 Police say the woman’s home was washed away Saturday in a mudslide triggered by torrential rain – The Weather Network – October 22, 2024
2 Quick Look at the Strong AR Forecast to Impact British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest – CW3E – October 18, 2024
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