Around 30,000 without power in B.C. after powerful overnight windstorm | CBC News

More than 28,000 homes in southwest B.C. are waking up without power on Tuesday after a severe windstorm rolled through the region overnight.

The majority of power outages are concentrated in the Lower Mainland, where more than 19,000 customers are in the dark, according to B.C. Hydro. That includes a large portion of the North Shore that has been in a blackout for hours, the utility said.

Roughly 7,000 people on Vancouver Island are also without electricity, as are another 2,000 in the northern part of the province.

Many outages were caused overnight by fallen trees knocking out power lines.

Winds during Monday night’s storm were expected to reach 110 km/h on some parts of the coast. Metro Vancouver, Howe Sound and inland Vancouver Island could have been hit with gusts up to 70 km/h, according to Environment Canada.

Weather warnings remain in place Tuesday for the majority of Vancouver Island, the South Coast and the Central Coast.

Also, a snowfall warning is in effect for the Coquihalla Highway, with up to 25 centimetres expected into Wednesday morning.

Monday was the third straight day of fierce winds for the South Coast. On Sunday, a storm toppled trees, blocked roads and disrupted transit.

A rare tornado swept over a section of the University of British Columbia’s Vancouver campus, downing trees and power lines across a major road to the campus.

Bus service to campus is still being detoured as a result. Routes 004 and 014 are using West 16 Avenue, while the 99 bus is using Chancellor Boulevard.

Part of a large tree is seen fallen on a car at the University of B.C. after a tornado-like waterspout descended over the campus on Saturday. (Laura De Pascale)

Many British Columbians unprepared for outages: survey

A new report from B.C. Hydro on Tuesday said almost half of British Columbians — 48 per cent — have not taken any steps to prepare for storm-related outages. Fifty-two per cent said they do not have an emergency kit.

The survey, released Tuesday, found people living in the Lower Mainland are most likely to be unprepared: only 43 per cent said they’d readied themselves for a long power outage.

The utility said people living in northern B.C., who are most likely to experience lengthy outages, were the most prepared at 63 per cent.

Vancouver Islanders followed closely behind at 58 per cent, then the southern Interior at 53 per cent.

In addition to being most likely to be unprepared, people in the Lower Mainland were also more likely to be dependent on their cellphones than people elsewhere in B.C. Nearly 75 per cent said their phone would be “very important” during an outage.

Thirteen per cent said they’d rather spend a day in the dark without their partner than without their phone.

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