Storm update

Last Thursday morning we experienced a bad wind storm.  Environment Canada predicted it, but like many I didn't pay much attention, until it started!  We were at Tsawwassen Mills Shopping Center having lunch with friends.  When I walked back to my car, I couldn't believe the wind!  Driving home along Highway 99 beside Mud Bay, we saw white caps (high tide) and the salt water was blowing on the highway!  I've never seen white caps at Mud Bay!   Trucks were pulled over on King George because they couldn't navigate the huge winds.  The ferries were cancelled very early on and the cancellation lasted all day!

The winds reached 128 km/h!  White Rock, Crescent Beach and South Surrey (where I live) were one of the most damaged areas in the lower mainland.  Our lights flickered five times and we only lost Internet, TV and home phone.  We were so fortunate we kept our power.  330,000 homes and businesses lost power.  My niece in Crescent Beach lost power until Saturday morning.  She moved in with her father-in-law on Friday and threw everything out of her freezer when the power returned.   Right now 40,000 people in the lower mainland and 30,000 people on Vancouver Island are still without power!  They anticipate it will be after Boxing Day before they get everyone fixed.

White Rock just announced their 49th annual Polar Bear Swim that was scheduled for January 1st, has been cancelled as the beach is such a mess.  There are logs, boats and part of the pier washed up on the gorgeous beach.  The clean up will take some time but I'm sure by the summer it will be all cleaned up.

Now for the storm damage report:

Huge branch broken off this tree in our back yard.
We've called the arborist but we aren't a priority as it's not a danger.
It's resting on the other tree and it's stable.  Let's hope we don't have another storm before the arborist gets here!

One of the townhouses at the end of our complex lost three large trees.  One landed on the house behind!  No one was hurt.  Cheryl's friend Diane had a tree fall on her house while they were at work.  There is a hole in their family room ceiling but thankfully the house is habitable and they have a huge blue tarp on their roof.  Diane's house was on the evening news!  Thankfully no one in the lower mainland was badly injured but a lady in on Vancouver Island was killed from a falling tree!

The historic 104 year old pier in White Rock was badly damaged.  There are boats moored at the end of the pier.  They broke lose and smashed against the pier.  The pier was torn in half while people were standing on it, watching the boats!  They all ran to the shore, but one man ran the other way.  They had to call a Canadian Forces Helicopter from Comox to rescue him!  Luckily he was okay and he did apologize for his stupidity on the evening news.  His wife, children and in-laws all ran the right way and watched in horror as the pier split in two.  Why people would walk on a pier in a fierce wind storm baffles me!

It's going to cost a lot to fix but the City of White Rock will have it repaired.
We love this pier and walk it frequently.
A paddle boarder is checking out the damage in this picture!

With wind and waves, you have to commend the Canadian Forces Rescue Team from Comox for their successful rescue

Let's hope everyone gets power for Christmas but it doesn't look like that will happen.

When the winds subsided around 7 PM on Thursday, I went back to visit my cousin Nancy to find her in extreme pain.  She called the BC Nurse's 811 line to find out how much medication she could safely take.  The nurse gave her the information and unfortunately the pain and meds were too much for her stomach to accept.  We called the nurse back and they told us to go to Surrey Hospital Emergency.  We drove through darkness down 96th Avenue and saw the power lines were down as we passed through Green Timbers.  It took two days for them to fix all the power wires and open up that road.  One thing I learned is most traffic lights in Surrey are battery backed up.  That made going through intersections much easier.  Some of the intersections were out for so long they had to replace the batteries!

Nancy was admitted to Surrey Hospital and they are still trying diagnose her problem.  The nurses and doctors at Surrey Hospital are fantastic!   She doesn't know if she will get out for Christmas but we hope for the best and her speedy recovery.