British Columbians not prepared for storm outages, BC Hydro finds

A new survey from the province’s utility provider has found that almost half of British Columbians are concerned about the upcoming storm season, but have not prepared accordingly.

BC Hydro says many folks in the province are feeling unprepared and are expecting the unexpected when it comes to storms and weather-related power outages.

“British Columbians are feeling that it’s harder to predict storms, and to prepare for them. And most of this really comes from the weather being so unpredictable over the past [year]…whether it’s ice storms, heat domes, severe wind storms,” Mora Scott with BC Hydro explained. “People are generally feeling more worried about what’s to come this storm season.”

Almost a year ago, a series of atmospheric rivers hit B.C.’s South Coast, causing unprecedented damage and flooding. BC Hydro says its infrastructure was damaged “extensively” and due to drought-like conditions this year, the province’s vegetation is weakened, meaning more power outages could occur this storm season.

“There were a number of ways that people were affected, whether it was damage to their property, their home, or their business, whether they experienced a power outage. Obviously, many people across the province experienced supply chain issues as well,” Scott said.

Extreme weather in the province is caused in part by the climate crisis, BC Hydro says, and is becoming the new “norm.”

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Along with hydro customers feeling concerned about the upcoming storm season, the survey also found over one-third have feelings of “perpetual under-preparedness,” which link directly to the unpredictability of weather events over the past 12 months.

“In fact, about half said they do not think there is a way to predict storm events with accuracy,” BC Hydro said.

BC Hydro says 42 per cent of respondents said they’re more worried about storm-related outages and damages affecting their communities than they were at this time last year.

“This is likely because a quarter were affected in some way by an atmospheric river storm last year – of those, 28% experienced a power outage, 22% experienced multiple power outages, 12% had damage from flooding, and 50% had trouble getting goods or services due to the storms.”

Scott says being prepared in the case of a storm is important.

“You never know how much damage a storm is going to cause or how long a power outage lasts. So we always encourage customers to have an emergency kit that will last them 72 hours,” she explained.

An emergency kit should have a flashlight, extra batteries, medications, and non-perishable food and bottled water.

But, even with people worrying more about weather-related impacts, 64 per cent of respondents have not taken any measures to prepare for outages, BC Hydro found.

“This means only about a third of British Columbians have taken steps to be prepared since last storm season.”

The utility provider says that just a little preparation can go a long way, “even if weather events are unpredictable.”

More information on power outage preparation can be found at bchydro.com.