HISTORICAL NEWS SEARCH - Government of British Columbia

extra span at an estimated cost of $615.64. Driftwood No. 2 Ref. No. 27 bridge had the fill under and around the east
approach washed away by floodwater. The costs were estimated at $350.27.
October 8-15, 1947
Event type: Flooding.
Precipitation: Cape St. James (99.0 mm/4 days), October 8-11, 1947; Ocean Falls (201.1 mm/2 days), October 11-12,
1947; Prince Rupert (126.0 mm/4 days), October 11-14, 1947; Bella Coola (89.2 mm/2 days), October 12-13, 1947;
Falls River (219.8 mm/4 days), October 12-15, 1947.
Source: The Advertiser, October 22, 1947; The Daily News, October 14, 1947.
Digby Island near Prince Rupert recorded 3.33 in. (84.6 mm) between October 11-13, and a southeast gale
with gusts up to 38 mph (61.2 km/h).
The Bella Coola area experienced 36 hours of heavy rain with a southwest gale and a midnight high tide.
Thorsen Creek flooded, weakening the supports under the bridge. In South Bentick Arm, the Osborne Logging Co.
had a bridge washed away.
October 23-25, 1947
Event type: Severe wind storm.
Precipitation: Cape St. James (36.3 mm/1 day), October 23, 1947; Falls River (69.9 mm/1 day), October 24, 1947;
Terrace (62.5 mm/1 day), October 24, 1947; Bella Coola (116.8 mm/2 days), October 24-25, 1947; Kitimat Mission
(119.6 mm/2 days), October 24-25, 1947.
Source: The Advertiser, November 5, 1947; The Omineca Herald and Terrace News, October 29, 1947.
Namu experienced 85-mph (136.8 km/h) gales, causing heavy property damage. *1) A boat was reported to
have sunk, drowning four people. Another boat just managed to get around the point into Burke Channel and get on
the beach in a sinking condition. Andy Schooner reported that shingles were torn off the roofs and corrugated iron
“twisted like tarpaper.”
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*1) Namu means “Whirlwind Bay” in the local Indian language.
November 1947
Event type: Rockslide.
Precipitation: Not applicable.
Source: Spooner et al. 1996; Evans (unpublished data).
In November a slide occurred in Mess Creek upstream of its confluence with the Stikine River. The landslide
in highly fractured bedrock completely dammed Mess Creek. At Telegraph Creek, the creek bed was reported dry.
(Evans (unpublished data). *1)
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*1) Spooner et al. (1996) report oral accounts of the Stikine River flowing in the opposite direction for part of one day
in the late summer of 1949, suggesting the Mess Creek landslide dam formed in November 1947 failed catastrophically
in 1949 (Evans (unpublished data).
Late December 1947- January 15, 1948
Event type: Snow avalanche and mudslide.
Precipitation: Not applicable.
Source: The Interior News, January 1, 8 and 15, 1948; April 15, 1948.
Early January, snowslide came down between Terrace-Skeena City, 27 mi. (43.2 km) east of Prince Rupert.
Unusually heavy snow during the previous weeks kept Public Works crews busy especially near Terrace.
Around January 15, several feet of snow blocked the Skeena Highway between Amsbury-Kwinitsa. Due to the big task
to keep this highway open, the road out of Prince Rupert and Terrace remained unplowed. *1)
Once the logging roads near Terrace would be cleared it was expected that an attempt would be made to open
the highway. Windfalls along the highway east of Terrace, especially between Usk-Dorreen, created serious additional
problems for road clearing crews.
Early January, a mud bank began to move slowly down onto the rail tracks near Walcott, a station on the
CNR line between Telkwa-Houston. On January 7, an extra crew and a “ditcher” were sent to the scene. About 100 ft.
(30 m) of high embankment was affected but trains were not delayed.
Early April, district highways engineer J.C. Brady announced that providing there were no new slides, the
highway would be open towards the end of April. By April 15, Terrace-based snow removal equipment was working
west of Shames through frozen snow up to 7-8 ft. (2.1-2.4 m) deep. Prince Rupert-based crews were working eastward
from Skeena.
May 5, 1948
Event type: Spring runoff flooding.
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