Landslide risk prompts evacuation order for village of Zeballos on Vancouver Island

An evacuation order have been issued for Zeballos, a village of about 125 people on the northwest coast of Vancouver Island, due to flooding and potential landslide risks.

The village has also declared a state of local emergency.

The evacuation order affects properties on Pandora Crescent and Maquinna Avenue, according to the Strathcona Regional District, while an evacuation alert covers three addresses on Ferris Road.

Residents in the Pandora, Gold Valley and Reno roads area are encouraged to shelter in place and remain in their homes.

There is a potential risk to life and safety, according to Emergency Info B.C., and anyone in the order area must evacuate immediately.

The district said it is “actively monitoring flooding and potential landslide risks.”

Its emergency operations centre has been activated.

“We recognize that this is a concerning situation for the community,” the district said on its website.

“Public safety remains the priority, and we will continue to provide updates as more information becomes available.”

‘There was water all over the place’

Ehattesaht First Nation Chief Simon John says heavy rain began in the middle of the night, and the flooding started early Friday morning.

A neighbour came to his door around 3 a.m. to tell him their houses were being flooded.

“There was water all over the place, like in both our yards,” John said, speaking from the tribal office, where he was hunkering down temporarily.

“And my friend Chris, he was jumping out of his window, and passing me his clothes and getting out of his house also.”

Chief Simon John says you could walk across the Zeballos River just last week, but after a day of heavy rain it’s ‘right full.’ (Submitted by Simon John)

John said crews had since diverted the water and less was coming down through the area.

But he said there is a big debris blockage above the houses that has the potential of releasing.

The flooding is related to a wildfire that burned the mountainside above Zeballos in 2018, he said, damaging the slope leading down to the village.

John said around 140 millimetres of rain has fallen in the region over about 12 hours.

“You could walk across the Zeballos [River] last week, and today it’s like, right full,” he said.

Environment Canada has issued a rainfall warning for several parts of Vancouver Island, including Zeballos.

It says “this is the first potent storm in a series of wet and windy weather systems that will affect the B.C. Coast into next week.”