Power has been restored to most of the 7,500 customers in Victoria, Oak Bay and Saanich without power this morning.
Hydro crews are still investigating the cause, but it’s believed electrical equipment shorted after rain washed debris into the insulators, said B.C. Hydro spokesman Ted Olynyk.
“After a long dry spell, you get a buildup of road dust and salt spray from the ocean. Rain comes and it washes it down to the insulators and causes a power failure,” he said.
Victoria police has not reported any weather-related accidents.
Victoria Fire and Saanich Fire both said they have not received any weather-related calls this morning.
Strong winds also downed power lines across the northbound lanes of Highway 19A in Parksville.
The windy, wet weather is expected to ease this afternoon, but a second storm will charge through on Wednesday. Depending on the severity of the wind and rain, Environment Canada could issue another weather warning for Wednesday.
Inland, mountainous areas of Vancouver Island could see up to 200 millimetres of rain over the week, Castellan said. The Island’s east coast should be relatively sheltered and won’t see as much rain.
Residents are advised to clear storm drains as best they can, as falling leaves combined with heavy rainfall could cause localized flooding, Castellan said.
The River Forecast Centre issued a high streamflow advisory for Vancouver Island, predicting that the heavy rain could cause rivers to rise rapidly.
The advisory includes streams in Gold River, Zeballos River, Tofino, Bamfield, Sproat River, Somass River and surrounding areas.
