The bomb cyclone that hit the West Coast on Tuesday night continues to wreak havoc on Wednesday morning, with BC Ferries being forced to cancel dozens of sailings as cleanup continues around the province.
BC Ferries announced that the cancellations were due to Environment and Climate Change Canada’s “severe weather forecast for high winds in the Strait of Georgia.”
According to the ferry operator’s website, additional sailings may be impacted throughout the day.
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“We know you have important places to be. We are currently monitoring the weather conditions with the goal of getting you underway as soon as it’s safe to do so. If conditions do not improve, additional sailings may need to be cancelled and we will let you know if that happens.”
BC Ferries has issued service notices for adverse weather sailing cancellations for the following routes on Wednesday, November 20:
- Vancouver (Tsawwassen) – Victoria (Swartz Bay)
- Vancouver (Horseshoe Bay) – Nanaimo (Departure Bay)
- Vancouver (Tsawwassen) – Nanaimo (Duke Point)
- Vancouver (Tsawwassen) – Southern Gulf Islands
- Comox (Little River) – Powell River (Westview)
- Powell River (Westview) – Texada (Blubber Bay)
- Nanaimo Harbour – Gabriola Island (Descanso Bay)
- Chemainus – Penelakut Island – Thetis Island
- Victoria (Swartz Bay) – Southern Gulf Islands
- Port McNeill – Alert Bay (Cormorant Island) – Sointula (Malcolm Island)
- Vancouver Island (Buckley Bay) – Denman Island West
- Vancouver Island (Campbell River) – Quadra Island (Quathiaski Cove)
- Cortes Island (Whaletown) – Quadra Island (Heriot Bay)
A full list of sailing cancellations can be found online.
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“If you have a booking on one of these cancelled sailings, you will hear from our Customer Service Centre to let you know if we can fit you on an alternate sailing later today, or if your booking must be cancelled,” BC Ferries explained online. “In the case of a cancellation, we will refund your fees and/or fares.”
Conditions on land did not fare much better, as more than 225,000 BC Hydro customers were without power Tuesday night as a massive windstorm caused damage across BC’s South Coast.
The high winds, blamed on a bomb cyclone, left trees toppled and downed power lines across Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland.
A number of Vancouver Island highways were also shut down because of the storm and the province warned drivers to avoid travel for the remainder of Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning.
With files from Daily Hive staff