One week following a massive atmospheric river, a new evacuation order was put into effect for three Deep Cove homes over concerns about debris cascading downhill during subsequent rainstorms, including rocks the size of "pumpkins."
The District of North Vancouver declared a local state of emergency evacuation order Saturday (Oct. 26) at 5 p.m. and said during heavy rain, debris filled the Ostler and Panorama Creek channels, “limiting their capacity to withstand future heavy rainfall events.”
“They were very large stones that came down, and literally thousands of them,” said District of North Vancouver Mayor Mike Little, adding that wood debris was also falling alongside rocks as big as "pumpkins" and "softballs."
The properties are 5297 and 5313 Indian River Drive and 2514 Panorama Drive. They are not the same properties that were under evacuation order earlier this month, Little said.
The state of local emergency was declared for neighbourhoods east of Francis Creek accessed from or via Indian River Road and Panorama Drive, north of the 2500 block, in Deep Cove, according to the district’s statement.
Little said that after crews fixed Gallant Creek from overflowing during the atmospheric river storm, the district started to receive calls from residents in the area about wood and rock debris falling.
“Basically, what we’re concerned about is that any new rain event would not stay in that channel, so we have to get the creek depth and alignment back to where it was,” said Little.
Some of the homes were damaged by falling debris, with one losing a support beam on their deck, suffering broken windows and flooding in the basement. Another home had their septic field and backyard destroyed.
“The amount of stone that was brought down is massive, and we’re very fortunate that nobody was injured when it came down on Saturday,” Little said.
One neighbour found the noise of the falling rocks so loud that they had to go back into the house and get hearing protection, Little said.
The district said the decision to declare a state of local emergency and a mandatory evacuation order was not taken lightly.
“This was an extraordinary event, we were expecting 120 to 160 millimeters of rain, and we got 344,” said Little about the initial atmospheric river that filled the creeks with debris. “So, this was unexpected and extraordinary in terms of how much rain, we don’t have anything to compare to it.”
Crews are working to fix the creeks so people can get back to their homes, Little said.
Residents of the properties affected are eligible to receive emergency support services.
Abby Luciano is the Indigenous and civic affairs reporter for the North Shore News. This reporting beat is made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative. [email protected]
