As some of you are aware, we had recored rain falls here on the North Island and Central Coast.
Between Friday morning and Sat afternoon, some areas around Hardy, McNeill and Alice recieved as much as 289mm of rain (for you metric challenged folks, that is ~1'). The rain averaged between 265 and 289mm, except for the Artlish, which recieved 429mm and Effingham, which recieved 378mm.
This has cause wide spread flooding, landslides and road closures on the North Island. The road washed out to Holberg, trapping 50 people who do not live there. It is expected that it could take up to three weeks to get the road open. The road to Zeballos is washed out as well. The community of Kingcome Inlet was basically washed away, lots of damage to infastructure and some houses.
One of the worst hit is the Bella Coola Valley, where mother Nature really showed who is boss. They recieved 257mm of rain over a 36 hour time frame, plus are expecting another 100mm by the end of today.
Check out the pictures posted on Facebook.....
]http://www.facebook.com/photo_search.php?oid=162251003786009&view=all
It could be 6-8 weeks before the road is opened to allow traffic back into the valley. The "Hill" was also damaged and it could be month before that gets fixed.
It sounds like BC Ferries will be putting on extra sailing to help the valley out. So if you have an elk tag for the North Island, give WFP in Woss or McNeill a call for road access and if you are planning a late season grizz hunt in the Valley.....good luck.
Cheers
SS
