More rainstorms to hit flooded Canadian province in coming days

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Vancouver, Nov 25 (IANS) Canada's still-flooded British Columbia province has warned that flooding could worsen in the province as river levels are expected to rise with heavy rainfall in the coming days.

A series of storms forecast in the coming days raised concerns for communities dealing with some parts of highways and roads already impacted by flooding and washouts when the province has been trying to recover from severe flood damage early this month.

"The next nine or 10 days could be quite challenging," British Columbia's Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth called on British Columbians on Wednesday to pay close attention to weather forecasts for the coming days.

Wind, rain and snowfall warnings are in effect for parts of Vancouver Island, the Central Coast and the North Coast, Xinhua news agency reported.

Some 80 mm of rain is forecast for Vancouver, Howe Sound, Whistler and the Fraser Valley in the Pacific coastal province until Friday.

British Columbia Hydro released a warning on Wednesday saying it anticipates increased water flow into its South Coast and Vancouver Island reservoirs and a higher risk of power outages this week due to the weather.

Last week, rainstorms caused power outages as heavy wind and landslides damaged some parts of the province's hydro system and British Columbia.

Hydro crews are working to replace transmission structures, power lines and wires while heading into the next series of storms.

On Wednesday, the City of Abbotsford replaced a boil water advisory for residents in some areas with "do not use water advisory."

The city said there are uncontrollable water breaches in the region that could allow surface water to affect the supply of drinking water.

--IANS

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