Thousands of people are without power on Saturday, Mar. 14 across British Columbia due to a strong windstorm that is hitting the South Coast.
According to BC Hydro's outage list, a whopping 20,337 customers in the Lower Mainland and along the Sunshine Coast are without power. There are 77 outages listed, and while a few of them are due to scheduled work, others are under investigation.
BC Hydro reports that its crews are responding as quickly as possible to restore power to the affected customers, and that individual restoration updates will be provided as soon as they are available.
#BCStorm update - A strong windstorm last night and this morning caused extensive outages in the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley, particularly in #Langley and #SurreyBC, and on Southern Vancouver Island, #PenderIsland, #MayneIsland and #SaturnaIsland. pic.twitter.com/1zTTSVthjV
— BC Hydro (@bchydro) March 14, 2020
While a number of cases are under investigation, a couple of them are as a result of trees that fell onto power lines during the windstorm. For example, one of the most recent major outages affecting 4,317 customers in White Rock is due to a tree that has fallen across BC Hydro wires.
A tree down across our wires has caused an outage affecting 4,317 customers in #WhiteRock. We'll share updates here: https://t.co/XtFefJ72vx pic.twitter.com/y7iWhhSDau
— BC Hydro (@bchydro) March 14, 2020
Damage to buildings, such as to roof shingles and windows, may occur due to the windstorm. Loose objects may be tossed by the wind and cause injury or damage.
Call 1 800 BCHYDRO (1 800 224 9376) or *HYDRO (*49376) on your mobile or report it online.
If you see a fallen power line, stay back at least 10 metres and call 911.
