Storm surge could bring flooding to Lower Mainland
Posted December 15, 2012 3:53 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
DELTA (NEWS1130) – A wet and wild weekend could lead to major flooding in the Lower Mainland with a massive storm surge on our coast.
Sunday and Monday are expected to see the strongest of the seasonal “king tides”, with levels over 5 metres above low tide.
But Oceanographer Scott Tinis says a storm surge will bring that several feet higher.
“Places such as Boundary Bay are particularly susceptible to not only the raising sea levels but the wind waves. So low-lying areas, especially near river deltas , may see some localized flooding.”
Tinis says the last time we saw ocean levels this high was during the 1982 El Nino storm season.
That storm surge is also expected to bring some flooding to areas of Delta.
Emergency centre director George Harvie says crews will be busy before the extremely high tide hits at around 9 Monday morning…
“What’s happening is we’ve blocked off all the beach accesses, tried to sandbag and reinforce areas where there are no beach walls and looking at our weak points. Our crews are all out there right now trying to do as much as possible.”
Concerned homeowners can get sandbags from the city.
