Thursday, December 18, 2025
ADVT 
National

Second mudslide victim's body found as more high winds strike B.C. coast

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 23 Dec, 2024 11:44 AM
  • Second mudslide victim's body found as more high winds strike B.C. coast

High winds are again hitting the coast of British Columbia, as gusts surpassing 100 km/h have been reported at several outlying islands.

The continuing stormy weather comes as police say emergency crews have recovered the body of a second victim killed in a mudslide in the Sea to Sky region during another windstorm last weekend.

Environment Canada says it has issued a wind warning for B.C.'s north and central coast including Haida Gwaii, northern and eastern Vancouver Island as well as parts of the Sunshine Coast, including Powell River.

The agency says winds in some areas may reach 120 km/h, presenting potentially hazardous driving conditions.

In response to the warnings, BC Ferries say a number of sailings in Haida Gwaii and the areas near Campbell River and Hornby Island were cancelled, although most crossings have resumed as conditions improve.

A weather advisory for Greater Victoria and the Southern Gulf Islands also warned of gusty winds in the area that may lead to power outages and disrupt travel plans.

Environment Canada data shows gusts reaching 140 km/h and beyond at Sartine and Solander islands off the northern coast of Vancouver Island today, while locations such as Sandspit and Masset in Haida Gwaii are reporting gusts of 90 km/h or above.

The frontal system that brought high winds to coastal B.C. this weekend also caused temperatures to spike in a number of communities, with Bella Bella, Prince Rupert, Qualicum Beach and West Vancouver all breaking decades-old high-temperature records on Saturday.

In response, Avalanche Canada has elevated the risk level to "considerable" for a number of alpine areas along B.C.'s coast, including most of Vancouver Island, much of the mountainous regions north of Metro Vancouver, as well as the area north of Kitimat to the provincial border with the Alaskan Panhandle.

The latest weather warnings come a day after winds exceeding 120 km/h pummeled B.C.'s central coast Saturday, while places such as Bella Bella and the Howe Sound north of Metro Vancouver reported gusts exceeding 90 km/h.

Earlier in the week, winds approaching 140 km/h were reported on Vancouver Island, while last weekend's severe windstorm led to the mudslide that closed a large section of the Sea to Sky Highway linking Vancouver and Whistler.

A home in the area was also struck by the mudslide, and police recovered the body of one of two occupants on Dec. 15 -- the day after the mudslide.

On Saturday night, Squamish RCMP confirmed that crews recovered the second occupant's body, but did not release the names of the victims.

MORE National ARTICLES

Passenger from B.C. had 10 kg of Christmas-wrapped meth: New Zealand border agency

Passenger from B.C. had 10 kg of Christmas-wrapped meth: New Zealand border agency
New Zealand's border agency says a woman is in custody after arriving on a flight from Vancouver with more than 10 kilograms of methamphetamine wrapped as Christmas presents. The New Zealand Customs Service says in a news release that the woman arrived in Auckland on Sunday, where she was questioned by officers.

Passenger from B.C. had 10 kg of Christmas-wrapped meth: New Zealand border agency

Family wants answers after Indigenous man's braids cut while in Edmonton hospital

Family wants answers after Indigenous man's braids cut while in Edmonton hospital
Family of an Indigenous man whose braids were cut and thrown away while he was staying in an Edmonton hospital want answers. Eve Adams says this past spring she went to visit her husband Dexter at Edmonton’s Royal Alexandra Hospital only to find the 84-year-old's braids, his eagle feather and some medicine had been put in the garbage can.

Family wants answers after Indigenous man's braids cut while in Edmonton hospital

Stranger sucker-punched in Downtown

Stranger sucker-punched in Downtown
Police in Vancouver say a 29-year-old man has been charged for allegedly sucker-punching a stranger in the city's downtown last month. It happened on November 28th outside the Hudson's Bay on West Georgia Street.

Stranger sucker-punched in Downtown

Eight-year-old killed after crash with snowplow near Castlegar

Eight-year-old killed after crash with snowplow near Castlegar
Police in British Columbia's southern Interior say a crash between an SUV and a snowplow dump truck has killed an eight-year-old boy. A statement from the RCMP's highway patrol division says the collision happened on Highway 3 near Castlegar, B.C., on Saturday around 8 a.m., when road conditions were "cold and icy with freezing rain."

Eight-year-old killed after crash with snowplow near Castlegar

Inmate dies in at Mission Institute

Inmate dies in at Mission Institute
Correctional Service Canada says an inmate at Mission Institute has died while in custody. It says 33-year-old Tyler Damien Van Basten had been serving a nearly four-year sentence that began in January. 

Inmate dies in at Mission Institute

Fifteen fisheries charges laid a decade after Mount Polley dam breached in B.C.

Fifteen fisheries charges laid a decade after Mount Polley dam breached in B.C.
A statement from the B.C. Conservation Officer Service says it worked with the Department of Fisheries and Environment and Climate Change Canada to investigate possible contraventions of the act. 

Fifteen fisheries charges laid a decade after Mount Polley dam breached in B.C.