UPDATE

About 90,000 Vancouver Island Hydro customers woke without power and ferries cancelled across the board to the Lower Mainland the morning of Nov. 20.

More than 175,000 customers have been restored – or nearly two-thirds of the more than 272,000 originally impacted across the province, BC Hydro said in a 6:30 a.m. update.

With strong winds expected to continue Wednesday in some areas, particularly on Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast, further outages are expected.

A downed power line is an emergency, and anyone who sees one should call 911 and stay at least 10 metres back, BC Hydro reminds residents.

As of 6:30 a.m., about 95,000 customers in the province were left without power. The majority – about 90,000 – are on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands, with the rest on the Lower Mainland and on the Sunshine Coast.

The hardest hit areas early Wednesday were Nanaimo, Greater Victoria, Duncan and Ladysmith.

Citing safety concerns, BC Ferries cancelled the 7 and 9 a.m. ferries between  Swartz Bay in North Saanich and Tsawwassen as the Environment and Climate Change Canada severe weather forecast for high winds continued across the Strait of Georgia.

The 6:15 and 8:25 sailings between Horseshoe Bay in North Vancouver and Departure Bay in Nanaimo are also cancelled as are the 5:15 and 7:45 a.m. ferries between Tsawwassen and Duke Point in Nanaimo.

For up-to-date sailing and departure information, check Current Conditions online or phone 1-888-223-3779.

Further cancellations could come as Environment Canada predicts the significant fall storm to continue.

A rapidly deepening low pressure system arrived approximately 500 km west of Vancouver Island and forecast to curl northwards Wednesday. Strong southeasterly winds are expected to continue with peak winds expected in the morning and easing later in the day.

Some areas can also expect heavy rain at times but winds remain the primary concern.

The winds, waves and high tide could combine to create a situation where coastal communities see the ocean exceeding highest astronomical tide, notes a weather advisory issued Tuesday afternoon.

Hazards include waves crashing ashore causing minor flooding and potentially rolling logs and other debris on beaches.

Storm surge from gale to storm-force southeast winds combined with seasonably high tide will produce elevated water levels for areas near the water across the south coast on Wednesday. Coastal flooding is possible along exposed shorelines, especially in low-lying areas.

For emergency preparedness tips visit Safety Canada at: getprepared.gc.ca.

ORIGINAL

Thousands of Vancouver Island residents were without power, and several highways closed Tuesday evening after a 'bomb cyclone' brought powerful winds to the B.C. coast.

At approximately 10 p.m. on Nov. 19, more than 133,000 BC Hydro customers were without power. Emergency crews responded to multiple motor vehicle incidents and reports of downed trees throughout the evening, including an incident where a tree fell on a semi-truck.

Port Alberni RCMP announced that Highway 4 east of Port Alberni was closed in both directions due to "unsafe conditions." Others closed included Highway 14 west of Sooke; Highway 18 at Hillcrest; Highway 28 from Gold River to Campbell River and the Marine Circle Route. Additional closures were possible as the storm moves through. Check for up-to-date information.

In preparation for the storm, BC Hydro sent crews home early on Tuesday to ensure a strong overnight response, according to a press release which noted all available crews and contractor crews are responding to the extensive damage caused by branches and trees contacting Hydro’s electrical infrastructure.

"While the ongoing wind is making it difficult to begin restoration work in some areas safely and some customers are expected to be out overnight, crews will continue working around-the-clock to repair damaged power lines, poles and other electrical equipment until all customers are restored," stated the release. 

Wind warnings began Tuesday afternoon, with BC Hydro crews busy in a number of areas across the Island. View the outage map . If you have any photos of damage from your area of Vancouver Island, email them to philip.wolf@blackpress.ca.

— With a file from Elena Rardon