HISTORICAL NEWS SEARCH - Government of British Columbia

Due to the heavy snowstorm in Stewart it took nearly two days to unload and load the S.S. Amur. It was
necessary to keep a crew of men continually shoveling snow, which fell at the rate of 1 in. (2.5 cm) an hour for 72
hours. A rainstorm closed the Dolly Varden Mine railway down completely, even to speeder traffic (Muralt 1985). *1)
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*1) On July 1, 1922, the Government of British Columbia began repairs on the rail line under the direction of J.
Anderson. The line was put in shape for light traffic, enabling the Alice Arm mining community to start operations for
the 1922 season (Muralt 1985).
September 25-30, 1922
Event type: Fatal debris flow.
Precipitation: Bella Coola (72.1 mm/1 day), September 25, 1922; Prince Rupert (19.1 mm/1 day), September 29, 1922;
Bella Coola (103.9 mm/2 days), September 29-30, 1922.
Source: The Daily News, October 5-6, 1922; The Victoria Daily Times, October 4, 1922; The Daily Colonist, October
5, 1922; The Evening Empire, October 2 and 5, 1922; Evans, unpublished data.
On September 29, the Bella Coola River flooded its banks. Bella Coola, a town of 175 people, was flooded
with 4-6 ft. (1.2-1.8 m) of water and mud. Hotel Brynoldsen was undermined and washed out. A logjam formed in a
bend a short distance above town. It diverted the main flow of water, thereby saving the town. The bridges leading
from the settlement to the waterfront were swept away. According to an officer of the Union Steamship Camosun,
Bella Coola was completely submerged on October 1. The ship was unable to take on passengers who were cut off
from the dock by the high waters. The passengers and some small parcels of freight and baggage were loaded two days
later with the assistance of “Indians using their shovel nose” canoes. There was no reported loss of lives.
The unusually heavy rains caused a very large landslide at Eicho Harbour, east of Ocean Falls. The slide,
which came down on October 1, had an estimated width of 100 ft. (30 m) and a length of 1,200 ft. (360 m). A heavy
mound of earth covered most of the houses. Five men, who were in a bunkhouse that was buried by the slide, were
killed. Of the victims, four were buried alive and one was swept into the sea and presumably drowned. Rescue crews
had not recovered the bodies of the five victims on October 5. The Davies residence was pushed into Dean Channel,
where it was found floating with Mr. and Mrs. Davies alive. According to Evans (unpublished data), a debris flow
occurred at Eicho Harbour on September 22.
February 23-28, 1923
Event type: Severe storm.
Precipitation: Prince Rupert (311.9 mm/6 days), February 23-28, 1923.
Source:The Evening Empire, February 26 and March 1, 1923; The Daily News, February 24, 26, 27 and 28; March 1
and 2, 1923.
A storm with heavy wind and rain lasting for two days interrupted commercial fishing. Smaller than usual
halibut catches were marketed. On February 27, Prince Rupert reported 4.65 in. (118.1 mm) of rain. The telephone
service was affected by a leak in the underground cable.
Near Juneau, Alaska, snowslides from Mount Juneau blocked the Basin Road. *1)
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*1) Debris flows from Mount Roberts near Juneau on January 2, 1920, and November 23, 1936, destroyed buildings
and killed four and 15 people, respectively. Snow avalanches down Snowslide Creek near Juneau in January 1922 and
on December 31, 1974, killed one man each. On January 10, 1971, an avalanche on Mt. Juneau killed a climber. A
snow avalanche down Cross Bay Creek near Juneau on February 7, 1974 killed a machine operator.
November 3-5, 1923
Event type: Landslide.
Precipitation: Queen Charlotte City (97.3 mm/2 days), November 3-4, 1923; Anyox (244.9 mm/2 days), November 3-
4, 1923; Prince Rupert (147.8 mm/3 days), November 3-5, 1923; Prince Rupert (84.3 mm/1 day), November 5, 1923.
Source: The Daily News, November 5, 6 and 8, 1923; The Interior News, November 7, 1923.
On November 5, the S.S. Prince John of the CNR arrived in Prince Rupert after a stormy passage up the
coast, which took two days longer than usual. In the north Bering Sea and Arctic Sea, whalers reported gales and
ground swells. The gales were of the “longest duration ever known” and the ground swells were due to an earthquake
in Japan.
In Anyox, 10 in. (254 mm) of rain fell between the mornings of November 3-5. On November 5, a landslide
swept away about 50 ft. (15 m) of the 6 ft. (1.8 m) diameter waterline between the dam and the powerhouse. This
caused the smelter and mine to shut down for five days. As a safety precaution the residents of the flats section of the
town were moved in with families at the higher part of town. In the Stewart area the Salmon River road sustained
considerable damage. Bridges and culverts were washed out and the road was temporarily made impassable, holding
up traffic for several days. At the Premier Mine, 18 in. (45.7 cm) of snow fell.
Repeated rainfalls turned the main highways in the Smithers district into “seas of mud.” Main Street was
reported “to have started to run east and west in places.”
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