By: Hailey Miller, Staff Writer
Content warning: descriptions of death by natural disaster.
On the weekend of October 19–20, a “major atmospheric river” made its way across the Lower Mainland, breaking a number of rainfall records. Some areas “saw a month’s worth of rain in just 48 hours.” From fallen trees and flooded streets to “tens of thousands” of households facing power outages, the atmospheric river caused severe damage throughout the weekend.
An atmospheric river is a “long, narrow band of concentrated water vapour in the sky.” They “are typically 800 kilometres wide and 1,000 kilometres long,” lasting for days at a time. Atmospheric rivers occur when “weather systems travel from the tropics toward the poles through the mid-latitudes,” and in this case, towards BC’s coast. According to the Canadian Climate Institute, the rise in atmospheric flooding in recent years is due to “increasing concentrations of heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere,” which “hold more moisture” and result in “heavier rainfall and more intense storms.” Up to two dozen atmospheric rivers can make landfall each year. Several warnings about the atmospheric flood were put out by Environment Canada and local weather stations.
This isn’t the first time the Lower Mainland has seen rainfall of this magnitude, as the atmospheric river in November 2021 was just as severe.
North Vancouver and Coquitlam faced some of the heaviest rainfall, with North Vancouver seeing about 350 millimetres of rain, and Coquitlam, over 260 millimetres of rain over three days. West Vancouver also got over 200 millimetres of rain. At least four people lost their lives due to the storm, with two of these individuals’ vehicles being “swept away in fast-moving flood waters on the Sarita River.” A mudslide in Burke Mountain caused a house to slide off a cliff, with the resident losing her life. A Coquitlam man was also found in the Coquitlam River after a five-day search.
This isn’t the first time the Lower Mainland has seen rainfall of this magnitude, as the atmospheric river in November 2021 was just as severe. Roads were washed out, impacting homes, agriculture, and livestock. Many roads and bridges needed repair due to the severity of the flooding.
Many homes in Deep Cove had to be evacuated this October, with North Shore residents feeling they were reliving the aftermath of the November 2014 floods again. Three other homes also had to be evacuated recently as the atmospheric river “filled creeks in the area with unstable debris,” reported CBC.
As Port Coquitlam residents were left cleaning up their homes, one resident told CityNews, “I’m angry there was nothing done to mitigate it because it was a foreseeable problem.” City of Port Coquitlam mayor Brad West also told CityNews the city has “been diligently upgrading infrastructure over the years and will be conducting a comprehensive review.”
The flooding on Vancouver Island was just as severe, with Tofino seeing 218 millimetres and Kennedy Lake — another region on the Island — receiving over 318 millimetres of rain.
