HISTORICAL NEWS SEARCH - Government of British Columbia

August 25-26, 1950
Event type: Severe wind storm.
Precipitation: Langara (71.7 mm/2 days), August 25-26, 1950; Falls River (39.6 mm/1 day), August 26, 1950; Prince
Rupert (64.8 mm/1 day), August 26, 1950.
Source: The Daily News, August 28, 1950; The Interior News, August 31, 1950.
A rainstorm with winds of 60-70 mph (96.6-112.7 km/h) went through the Skeena Valley. The storm, which
was described as “one of the worst storms known in the District,” was felt as far east as Burns Lake. Trees fell across
the highway, railroad tracks and telephone lines. The highway 30 mi. (48 km) west of Terrace was blocked for a
distance of 3 mi. (4.8 km).
In Prince Rupert, many basements flooded and the telephone service was interrupted. There were three
major breaks in the line. The railway dispatcher’s telephone line also went out.
October 7-8, 1950
Event type: Severe storm.
Precipitation: Not applicable.
Source: Prince Rupert Daily News, October 10, 1950; The British Columbian, October 10, 1950.
On October 7-8, southeast gales, the third storm within a week with winds reaching 65 mph (104 km/h), hit
the Queen Charlotte Islands. A Davis raft, valued at over $1 million, was torn from its moorings at Alliford Bay and
piled up on the shores of Queen Charlotte City. Barber’s float, used by fishermen and Queen Charlotte Airlines, parted
and was scattered along the same shores. Several gillnet fishing vessels were badly damaged or lost. Attempts to tow to
Queen Charlotte City the seiner Scrub, severely damaged in one of the earlier storms with the loss of two lives proved
unsuccessful. Storms washed the vessel ashore at Sandspit where she broke up.
November 2-4, 1950
Event type: Flooding.
Precipitation: Aiyansh (38.9 mm/1 day), November 2, 1950; Namu (152.1 mm/2 days), November 2-3, 1950; Ocean
Falls (293.1 mm/2 days), November 2-3, 1950; Falls River (64.8 mm/1 day), November 3, 1950; Bella Coola (180.3
mm/2 days), November 3-4, 1950.
Source: Ocean Falls Reporter, November 11, 1950; Environment Canada 1991.
Winds up to 50 mph (80 km/h) were reported from all across the Queen Charlotte Islands. In some places
also fog and heavy rain occurred. The storms over the Queen Charlottes kept planes of Queen Charlotte Airlines
grounded in Prince Rupert on November 2.
On November 4, the Bella Coola River near Hagensborg recorded a maximum daily discharge of 813 m 3 /s
(Environment Canada 1991). The recent flood at the South Bentick Logging Camp washed out some of the logging
bridges. Cartwright, Public Works Engineer, was called to Bella Coola to look over the damage caused by the
rampaging Bella Coola River. The flood isolated Hagensborg and the rest of the valley from the townsite. The plans
of the new bridge crossing to Salloompt had to be altered because of the rise of the river.
November 22-26, 1950
Event type: Icejam flooding.
Precipitation: Not applicable.
Source: Nanaimo Free Press, November 27, 1950; The British Columbian, November 28, 1950; The Interior News,
November 30, 1950.
On November 22, drift ice started jamming the Bulkley River in a bend of the river at the east end of the
bridge near Smithers. Ice started building up to some point between Smithers-Telkwa. The river’s surface was frozen
in a canyon 4 mi. (6.4 km) south of the Bulkley bridge. Water started backing up into an old slough. On November 22
at 3 a.m., the K. Vetterli family was evacuated when the lower part of the farm flooded.
On November 26, the flood situation worsened. The river channel in the canyon near the airport, frozen
across the top caused water to back up. An icejam 1 mi. (1.6 km) east of Smithers on the Bulkley River caused
flooding of two farms with 3 ft. (90 cm) of water. The families of William Kidd and Carl Vetterli’s neighbouring 320ac.
(128 ha) farm were forced to vacate their farms. Floodwaters damaged 25 tons of potatoes and a large volume of
timothy seed stored in a root cellar at the Vetterli farm.
Parts of the Northern Trans-Provincial Highway (Highway 16) were under 4-5 ft. (1.2-1.5 m) of water over
an old part of the road. Water also covered a quarter-mile (400 m) section of the new highway, 0.5 mi. (800 m) from
Smithers. By November 27, 10 in. (25 cm) of water was pouring across the main highway. School bus runs to
Driftwood, Glentanna and Telkwa were temporary discontinued.
December 1-4, 1950
Icejam flooding.
Precipitation: Not applicable.
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