Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows residents are getting ready for another weather battering after Environment Canada issued a special weather statement Thursday, with the potential of up to 100 millimetres of rainfall within two days.
The weather service is calling for rain and gusty winds for today and Friday for Metro Vancouver, including Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows.
The precipitation is forecast to start at about noon today, Thursday, then increase in intensity by the evening. More rain is forecast for Friday, with up to 50 millimetres by morning – then up to another 50 mm by that evening or Saturday morning.
Rainfall warnings may be issued for some regions later today, according to Environment Canada.
The end-of-the-week storm follows a sudden storm last Friday, Sept. 14, which dumped a deluge of rain in about an hour between 4:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. on Sept. 14 in downtown Maple Ridge.
Businesses were flooded, a daycare closed, and several tents were knocked down in Anita Place Tent City as rain and hail overwhelmed storm sewers and torrents of water cascaded downhill towards the camp and apartment buildings.
City engineer Dave Pollock described it as a major storm event which used to happen only once in several decades.
But, “We’re seeing these events more.”
The rain was focused on the downtown and started about 4:30 p.m. and continued for about 45 minutes.
Pollock noted the accumulation of hail plugged many catch basins and once those were cleared, water drained away.
“It was certainly very intense.”
B.C. Housing on Monday said it was going to provide new tents, sleeping bags, clothing and additional items as required, “ensuring those who remain at the camp are sleeping in dry and functional gear.”
But Listen Chen, with the Alliance Against Displacement, said she’s seen only three new tents in the camp as of Thursday, six days after the storm.
She’s also seen some new thin blankets and isn’t sure if more tents and sleeping bags are on the way.
Residents are still waiting for laundry vouchers after possibly contaminated water flowed through the camp after the camp’s Porta-Potties were upended by the rushing waters, she added.
Chen said the camp’s population has dropped slightly as residents stay with friends. But some are still hunkering down in their collapsed tents.
The camp has slightly expanded its area to the south in order to create more space between tents for fire safety reasons.