B.C. Hydro crews were still busy cleaning up the aftermath of a wind storm that blew through the Nanaimo region Tuesday and early Wednesday.
Environment Canada issued a wind warning Tuesday that gusts of 70 kilometres per hour were expected as a cold front was moving in from the Pacific Ocean.
Ted Olynyk, B.C. Hydro spokesman, said power outages were reported across Nanaimo and the number of outages peaked between 3 and 4 a.m. Wednesday when about 5,300 customers were without power.
“That was the hardest-hit area of the Island around that time,” Olynyk said.
Cedar, Yellow Point and the Linley Valley areas of Nanaimo were among the areas reporting the highest numbers of power outages in the region.
Nanaimo Fire Rescue firefighters also responded to several calls about power lines down late Tuesday.
Victoria was hit by the storm earlier with loss of power to about 8,300 customers.
More than 210,000 customers across the Island, Sunshine Coast and Lower Mainland lost power and about 30,000 homes and businesses were still without power as of Wednesday morning.