More rain fell on the North Shore during Saturday’s gullywasher than in the November 2014 storm that saw widespread flooding in Lynn Valley and Deep Cove.
But, the North Shore escaped with only localized flooding this time around.
“All in all we came through very, very well,” said Gavin Joyce, the District of North Vancouver’s director of engineering and parks.
Environment Canada’s weather station in West Vancouver recorded 115 millimetres of rain on Saturday while the Mahon Park station picked up 100.
“It looks like it was the wettest Nov. 7 ever on record,” said Michel Gelinas, Environment Canada meteorologist.
The storm that blew in on Nov. 3, 2014, by contrast, saw 87 millimetres fall over 24 hours, Gelinas said, although higher up the mountainsides that day, rainfall hit 160 millimetres, according to the District of North Vancouver’s weather station.
That so many basements stayed dry this time around is thanks in large part to remediation work done on three priority creek crossings where clogged culverts caused the creeks to jump their banks in 2014 – Kilmer, Gallant and Thames, Joyce said.
Several homes on Kilmer and Fromme roads were deluged and Argyle secondary was temporarily closed due to flooding. The district, province and feds each chipped in to install new basins, grates and culverts at those creeks and the district has since commissioned a study into the flood risks and possible fixes for its entire creek system. The study should be complete by the spring of 2016.
The district claimed $1.29 million in damages to its infrastructure from the 2014 storm, $1.17 million of which was covered by the province’s disaster financial assistance program. Individuals too were eligible for disaster assistance.
The province paid out $511,922 in claims to 39 homeowners and one small business owner who were eligible under the program. Because private insurance does not cover flood damage, the province offers up to 80 per cent of the cost of essential repairs for primary residences.
The District of West Vancouver meanwhile is bracing for storm surges as fall and winter weather sets in. Staff will be installing a protective berm to shield the Silk Purse Arts Centre from king tides, after it was flooded with seawater in the winter of 2012.
The Canadian Hydrographic Service has warned municipalities to be prepared for particularly high tides on Nov. 28, Dec. 27 and Jan. 14.
Beyond that, West Vancouver staff are eying more long-term infrastructure projects on the waterfront in anticipation of sea level rise.
