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Watch: Flooding slams North Shore as atmospheric river brings massive rainfall

North Vancouver and West Van have beeen hit hard by the first major storm of the fall season, with North Shore Emergency Management opening up a reception centre for displaced residents
Brent Richter
Brent Richter

The worst of the atmospheric river has passed, but dozens of home and business owners will be cleaning up after heavy rains caused flooding across the North Shore on Saturday.

West Vancouver Fire and Rescue Chief Gord Howard said crews were out clearing catch basins and culverts all night, however two creeks in Dundarave jumped their banks resulting in flooding of homes along 21st Street. And the stormwater system in Ambleside was overwhelmed leading to water pooling on Marine Drive.

“The system is only designed for so much water, and we had much more water coming in a short period of time,” he said. “We're still trying to get a really tight tally, but probably three dozen or so have received some significant water damage.”

Elsewhere on the North Shore, social media clips from Deep Cove showed water flowing down Gallant Avenue like a river, while video of Fromme Road where it crosses Hastings Creek showed similar flooding.

North Shore Emergency Management set up a reception centre at Mickey McDougall Recreation Centre for people who had to evacuate their homes but had nowhere else they could go.

Howard said numerous people left their homes with the help of rescuers.

“We had some people self-evacuate. We assisted some people out of their homes for their safety. There were some tactical evacuations,” he said. “Crews placed a ladder across an area of water and helped carry people out of their house.”

District of North Vancouver staff have not yet responded to a request for details on the damage in Deep Cove.

The good news, Howard said, is that the worst of the storm has now passed and no one was injured in West Vancouver

“Thankfully, things have kind of settled down in terms of increased damage,” he said. “We know some residents are, unfortunately, seeing some impacts, but we are happy to report that we have no reports of injuries or fatalities, either from the public or our workers, so everybody was safe, and that's our really top priority.”

Rushing water can be highly hazardous, Howard said, and North Shore Emergency Management is urging everyone to stay away from parks, forested areas, steep slopes and all waterways. Visit the North Shore Emergency Management website for the latest updates on the flood response.

If you are experiencing flooding in your home, and it is significant, please shut off the power if it is safe to do so and call 911.

Video credit: Coutesy of Kaija Knox and Trish Schonbrun.