Intense Rains Cause Floods In Vancouver

The amount of rain that fell on Vancouver wasn’t unusual. The short time it took was.

Homeowners and municipal workers were tallying the damage Thursday after torrential rains flooded basements, roads and streets.

About 2.3 inches of rain fell in 24 hours. In suburban White Rock, just north of the U.S. border from Blaine, Wash., the weather station recorded nearly .41 of an inch of rain between 11 p.m. and midnight.

“We had a few hours of intense downpours,” said Brian Forsyth of the weather office said Thursday. “That’s probably what caused the flooding problems.”

The city frequently gets 2 to 2.4 inches of rain, but not over such a short period, he said.

Lydia Ungemach, 83, of Vancouver, woke up Thursday morning to find water had filled her basement hip deep, then receded overnight. Tables, chairs, couches and her freezer had been carried by the water into other rooms.