Kristen Villebrun and Wendy Bush hoped they wouldn't have to pray for Chedoke Creek, but four years after they first raised alarm about the water's condition, they were part of an Indigenous full moon ceremony to do just that. About 50 people showed up near Princess Point on the dark and frigid Monday evening for the monthly ceremony, which was particularly special as it focused on Chedoke Creek. The body of water that runs into Cootes Paradise had about 24 billion litres of sewage and storm water runoff leak into it due to a gate being left open.
Vancouver is well known for its rainy climate but parched lawns are now a common sight in its sprawling suburbs and city parks. New restrictions on watering began early this summer and - unlike elsewhere - most residents are happy to comply. The grass in front of Sky Morfopoulos' home in East Vancouver is barely grass at all. Although the strands are brown and parched, tiny sprinkles of weeds and clovers blend in with the fading grass and present an illusion of a semi-green lawn.
The mayor of Glencoe, Ont., says the cost of cleaning up and repairing the damage from Wednesday's deadly rainstorm has pushed his rural community to ask the province for financial relief. Environment Canada said Wednesday the town received 135 millimetres of rain during a downpour that turned driveways into ponds, roads into streams and filled basements with sewage.
A teenager was found dead Friday after he reportedly got caught in a storm drain tunnel in a Toronto park during heavy rain overnight, fire crews say. Toronto fire officials say they received a call around 1:20 a.m. reporting a person being swept into the water at Earl Bales Park, the site of a large stormwater management pond in North York. They say an 18-year-old who was with the boy at the time of the incident was able to get out of the water safely and was treated at the scene.
Cleanup crews are trying to determine how much runoff from an industrial fire in Etobicoke a week ago has made its way into Lake Ontario, the province's environment ministry says. The ministry has said the runoff is affecting two waterways, Mimico Creek and Humber Creek, and containment measures have been in place since August 11 in both creeks. On Friday, it said while measures along Mimico Creek were reinforced Wednesday, Thursday's rain night enabled the spill to move further down Mimico Creek.
Rivers, creeks, and streams are beginning to turn amidst the pressure of flood waters. While the City of London escaped heavy rain Wednesday evening through Thursday morning, some areas north and west of the city were not as fortunate. The Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) issued a flood alert. It follows several days of storms that have left the earth saturated.
Marilyn Roberts lost everything in her basement on Saturday when water from a nearby pond came rushing in. The Sally's Cove resident said it took less than 30 minutes for five feet of water to fill up her basement, leaving her with a massive mess and questions about the future of her home. "It's heartbreaking," she said. "I don't know how I'm going to pull through it down the road. It's going to be hard for me."
On Monday, the park received up to 100 mm of precipitation in some areas, falling as both snow and rain. The high-elevation areas, such as the Skyline trail, received an estimated snow accumulation of up to 70 cm, while lower elevations experienced lesser amounts. The heavy snowfall resulted in widespread tree damage, making travel conditions on trails challenging and, in some cases, impassable, with Parks Canada having to rescue dozens of people who were left stranded in some areas.
Heavy rain over Saturday and Sunday brought a helpful boost to the Comox Valley’s water system as levels remain below normal. According to BC Hydro stakeholder engagement advisor Stephen Watson, the February to September water supply forecast has come down since their initial forecast of 96 per cent normal. This is because of the very dry February and March that saw about half normal rainfall, according to Environment Canada. However, last weekend’s rain did provide a nice boost to help bring levels back up a bit.
High streamflow advisories have been issued for two more regions as heavy rain sweeps over British Columbia’s southern Interior. B.C.’s River Forecast Centre added the advisories for the Similkameen and Okanagan regions after previously issuing bulletins for all of Vancouver Island, the Sunshine Coast and Metro Vancouver through to the Fraser Valley.
The next atmospheric river of the season is forecast to bring heavy rain to coastal British Columbia by late Thursday and this one could drench drought-stricken areas that have been bypassed by recent storms. Rain is predicted to be heaviest on the west coast of Vancouver Island, where about 80 millimetres could fall in less than 36 hours, while Environment Canada models show some Metro Vancouver communities could receive 60 millimetres or more.
Mother Nature is about to throw another wet and windy punch our way this weekend, with “continuous and significant rainfall” and strong winds forecast from Victoria to Port Hardy starting Saturday morning or afternoon, depending on where you live. Rainfall, which is expected to last until Monday in some areas, will be heavier than the season’s initial atmospheric river on Thursday that knocked out power to more than 18,000 homes and caused dangerous driving conditions.
Heavy rain is expected on Prince Edward Island overnight Wednesday. Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement in connection with the forecast. Rainfall amounts will vary across the province. Generally amounts will be 30 to 50 millimetres, but could be as high as 70 in some areas. "Periods of rain will become heavy this evening and continue overnight before easing early Thursday morning. Isolated thunderstorms are also possible tonight," said CBC meteorologist Jay Scotland.
The City of Saskatoon is cleaning up after as much as 75 millimetres of rain fell in some areas on Monday, leading to flooded streets and properties. The city said Tuesday that crews had worked overnight to address flooded roadways. Crews popped manhole covers to release water that had hit the city's south, north and east sides especially hard. A news release said that the majority of the city had been cleared by Tuesday morning, except for areas in the southeast that still had barricades for driver and pedestrian safety. The city said those barricades should be removed by the end of the day.
Roads were flooded and basements were soaked in towns across Saskatchewan on Monday. Terri Lang, a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada, said the Battlefords area was hit hardest. "They came in with a whopping 100 millimetres. And that was in about six or seven hours," Lang said. Other areas also saw heavy rain. Lang says Rosetown got about 46 mm, but based on models she believes the rainfall totals east of Rosetown could have been much higher.
The Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine has issued an evacuation order for three small communities near Terrace as the Skeena River continues to rise after a weekend of heavy rain and snowmelt. Residents of Old Remo, New Remo, and Usk were told to leave their homes by 8 p.m. PT Sunday. The district issued an evacuation alert on Thursday. The communities, built on low-lying flood plains, have faced flood crises over the past two decades. Old Remo was flooded in 2002, 2007 and 2017, seeing roads washed out and dozens of homes evacuated.
Town officials in Fort Frances are continuing to work to address flooding in the northwestern Ontario community. As of Monday, Fort Frances has closed sections of Front Street, as well as walking and bike paths along the street. Also closed are the Front Street playground and fitness equipment, the Sorting Gap Marina gas docks and boat launch, Lookout Tower, the Hallett, Crowe Avenue Dock, Point Park and Seven Oaks.
In November 2021, Abbotsford, B.C. was deluged with several days of heavy rain, flooding much of the low-lying valley around the city, wreaking havoc and causing millions of dollars in damage. With climate change, that will likely happen a lot more often in cities across Canada, including Calgary, Ottawa, and Montreal. So what should we do about this? Rivers are not naturally static bodies of water. A river can fluctuate in size and even shift direction depending on the climate, resulting in floods to the land next to it.
Heavy rain Friday night and Saturday morning resulted in a pumping station near the Memorial Sports Centre to fail. Town spokesperson Patrick Briere says crews have been working around the clock to keep water flowing. “It (got) to a point overnight last night where we had a critical infrastructure failure at one of our lift stations. We have crews on scene. They’ve been working all night, and they continue to work to alleviate the problems and the back-ups. We are pushing at 100% capacity for water right now,” says Briere. Briere says residents should ensure their sump pumps are flowing outside.
Heavy downpours and strong winds are causing power outages and toppling trees and branches in some areas of southern New Brunswick. As of Tuesday evening, N.B. Power was reporting more than 4,000 power outages, with about half of those in the Kennebecasis Valley in southwestern New Brunswick and about 1,000 outages in the Moncton area. Roads in the Rothesay and Quispamsis area were littered with large branches, and heavy rain and hail continued to pelt the area.
