City of Nanaimo
A sudden and severe storm that dropped a total of 35mm of rain on North Nanaimo in just an hour in mid-September is prompting a review of City infrastructure.
The City of Nanaimo says the intense rain on Sunday, September 16th overwhelmed storm drainage systems and led to localized flooding.
The drainage systems aren’t designed to handle extreme rainfall conditions.
The City says the amount of rain that fell over that hour was only matched by a similar storm in May 2016, otherwise they have no precedent in rainfall records that date back to 1980.
In response, the City of Nanaimo says it will complete area by area technical studies to better understand the impact of climate change and subsequent extreme weather events on the drainage systems.
The next area to be looked at will be Eagle Point, one of the areas hardest hit by the storm. Seabold Park has even been closed until further notice because of damage to the playground, the trailway and the stairs as a result of the heavy rain.
City crews will also complete localized drainage improvements, where possible, to help reduce the impact of severe storms on the system.
Ben O'Hara
