| Comments | Lower Mainland British Columbia, August 29, 2015. One of the worst windstorms to affect the province in decades hit British Columbia’s Lower Mainland. The most affected areas included Surrey, Richmond, Abbotsford and the Western Fraser Valley. On Saturna Island, wind gusts were report to reached 117 km/h. The powerful winds subsequently fell hundreds of trees, which damaged homes, vehicles and power lines. In total, approximately 500,000 customers (1,500,000 individuals) lost power due to damaged power lines. Some areas lost power temporarily, while others were without power for over three days. Fallen trees caused damages to residential and commercial property. Debris and traffic light outages created severe traffic congestion. There were numerous reports of an undetermined number of people being injured due to fallen trees and debris. One individual was critically injured and taken to the hospital after a tree fell on her while she was outside with her daughter. Additionally, a Vancouver Sky Train was damaged by a fallen tree resulting in service delays. The strong winds that fell hundreds of trees also caused the closure of Stanley Park, Pacific National Exhibition (PNE) and ferry crossings. |