Vancouver Island was battered by heavy rainfall overnight, which overflowed sewers, flooded homes and even triggered a rockslide in a Victoria suburb.
About 130 milimetres of rain poured down from Saturday to Sunday evening between Sooke and Victoria, flooding part of West Coast Road and turning Sooke Road into a veritable lake.
City and restoration crews in Victoria had their hands full all day clearing pooling water out of flooded homes. Jilliann Gunn says water first started pouring into her home at around 10 p.m. Saturday.
"Water was coming in the garage and the back door simultaneously, faster than we could bail it out," Gunn said. "By 4 a.m. we had a flood of water across the downstairs."
The deluge also triggered a rockslide that battered one home in the suburb of Langford. Yvan Sylvestre says he woke up to "the sound of a freight train" colliding with his home.
"It lasted for about three or five seconds," he said. "Then of course the first response is just checking on my kids."
Giant boulders came crashing onto one side of his home, entering his son's bedroom and destroying his bed, but Sylvestre says he not hurt. "He was fine … not even a scratch."
The rain also caused wastewater to overflow on the eastern shoreline of Greater Vancouver, prompting a public warning to avoid wading or swimming in the area.
The area from Finerty Point to Clover Point was affected. Officials did not say when the warning would be lifted.
