HISTORICAL NEWS SEARCH - Government of British Columbia

Source: Cornforth and Lowell 1996; Kulikov et al. 1996; Evans (unpublished data).
On November 3, a submarine slide occurred at the head of Taiya Inlet at Skagway, Alaska, about 20 km from the
British Columbia border. (Cornforth and Lowell 1996; Kulikov et al. 1996). *1) Major renovations were being
undertaken at a dock on the east side of the harbour. The work involved pile driving and the storage of riprap on the
dock.
At 6:47 p.m., an extremely low tide (-1.3 m) occurred. At 7:10 p.m., the entire south end of the 260-m long
dock slid into the water, killing a worker on the dock. The total time taken for the total loss of ground was estimated at
approximately 15-20 seconds. (Cornforth and Lowell 1996). The slide generated a 3.7-m high wave that moved across
the harbour, causing significant damage to the nearby public boat harbour and to the terminal of the Alaska State Ferry,
280 m from the dock.
Three days prior to the failure, signs of distress in the form of cracking and pile movement had been noted.
The replacement value of the railway dock was estimated at $15-20 million. (Kulikov et al. 1996).
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*1) A similar submarine slide had taken place at the dock in 1966. (Kulikov et al. 1996).
November 22, 1994
Event type: Rockslide.
Precipitation: Not applicable.
Source: The Terrace Standard, November 30, 1994.
On November 22, a rockslide came down onto Highway 16 between Terrace-Prince Rupert. A huge slab of rock
broke off above the highway and shattered into pieces when it hit the road. It hit the tail end of a passing logging truck,
causing to spill its load over the highway. There were no injuries to the diver. Dynamite was used to clear the highway,
which was closed for approximately six hours.
December 19, 1994
Event type: Flooding.
Precipitation: Prince Rupert (42.2 mm/1 day), December 19, 1994.
Source: The Daily News, December 20, 1994.
In Prince Rupert, days of steady rains (incl. 42.2 mm on December 19) caused flooding of a couple of Third
Avenue businesses. Clogged drains at the back of the Bargain Shop caused extensive flooding. The store lacks a back alley
and proper drainage, causing the water to build up and then running underneath into the store's crawl space. On the morning
of December 20, the situation was under control with one pump extracting 450 L of water per hour. Tinker Realty, another
business on Third Avenue, also sustained water damage on December 19 when water came off the cliff behind the building.
January 1995
Event type: Severe storm.
Precipitation: Not applicable.
Source: The Interior News, January 15 and 29, 1995; Houston Today, January 29, 1995; Lakes District News, January
1995.
In early January, heavy snowfall caused many roofs of commercial buildings and barns in the Bulkley Valley
to collapse. In the Smithers area, there were at least 12 collapses, all farm buildings and other structures built without
permits or inspections. Snow core samples taken by Richard Wainwright, building inspector for the Regional District
of Bulkley-Nechako, showed a snow load of 45 lb./in. 2 . As of January 21, unshoveled roofs in Houston had about 2 ft.
(60 cm) of snow at a weight of about 31 lbs./in. 2 . *1)
In Smithers, the entire roof of The Peak billiards and espresso came down. The 50 x 90 ft. (15 x 27 m)
building, constructed in June 1979, was worth about $250,000. For years it operated as an auto parts store before the
Peak opened the previous April. A sidewall collapsed, crushing a couple of vehicles and narrowly missing the next
door building. The wall on the other side was pushing dangerously against the Legion building, forcing the evacuation
of occupants.
On January 7, snowloads also collapsed the roof of the downtown Smithers Bi-Rite Furniture warehouse. Bi-
Rite’s main building also suffered snow-load damage. On January 11, the landmark Storie barn collapsed from the
weight of the snow on its roof. Built in the mid 1920s by the Fagerlet family, it was used store hay and house cattle and
horses.
In Quick, a 1.5-year old hay barn slumped over. The 60 x 80-ft. (18 x 24 m) building was used to store hay, a
tractor and some equipment. In Houston, one barn and the old BC Hydro building at 11 th Street collapsed. In the rural
Burns Lake area, at least eight Quonsets, arch-shaped corrugated steel structures, and four other buildings including the
1947-vintage gas station at Grassy Plains collapsed.
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*1) Prior to 1993, in Smithers and Houston buildings were designed to withstand minimums of about 30 lb./in. 2 and 35
lb./in. 2 , respectively. Beginning in 1993, the Canadian Building Code set the limit at 46 lb./in. 2 , a 50% increase.
(Lakes District News).
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