Atmospheric river brings heavy rain on B.C. election day [Video]

Environment Canada is ramping up rainfall warnings in British Columbia, where Vancouver Island, Metro Vancouver and the coastal regions of the province are bracing for major downpours through the weekend.

The first atmospheric river of the season is expected to bring up to 120 millimetres of rain to west and inland Vancouver Island on Saturday — the day on which the province’s residents cast their ballots in a provincial election — and into Sunday.

RCMP in Langley issued a warning about a possible sinkhole in that community, saying heavy rain had compromised the roadway’s stability and the section has been closed.

BC Hydro’s outage map, meanwhile, showed numerous local outages caused by downed lines or trees on power lines, affecting anywhere between six and a few dozen customers each along the east coast of Vancouver Island and the Metro Vancouver area.

Environment Canada warns 150 millimetres of rain is expected …