Help requested from province following weekend deadly landslide and windstorm
Mayor Ken Berry declared an official state of emergency on Sunday night, following a disaster-filled weekend for Lions Bay.
A windstorm that battered the coast on Friday night took out power to most of the Village, followed by a devastating landslide Saturday morning that crushed one home, leaving one resident dead and another missing.
Taking the form of a special Village Update, Berry's statement declared that "a state of local emergency exists in the Brunswick/ Magnesia Creek due to debris flow that has caused property and structural damage and loss of life."
He indicated that the state of emergency would allow the Village to access additional provincial government resources, and would remain in force until cancelled by the municipality.
The announcement also noted that the cause of Saturday's landslide is currently under investigation.
Mayor Berry confirmed the death of one of the residents whose home was swept away by the landslide as well as the continued search for another missing person. He said that "further geotechnical investigation" will be undertaken.
No further details were provided.
The evacuation order issued to residents of Brunswick Beach Road has now been rescinded, though the order remains in force for residents of homes located near Crystal Falls Road.
The Watershed will provide further updates as information becomes available.
The Watershed is, above all, a community news source,
and our thoughts go out to the family, friends and neighbours of the missing and impacted residents.
Please leave any comments you'd like to share below, or email us at editor@lionsbaywatershed.ca
I would like extend sincere gratitude to Karen for her diligent, professional journalism throughout the landslide crisis. Karen's reporting in The Watershed was frequent, thorough, and accurate. By contrast we heard nothing from the Village until almost 24 hours after the event! If not not for The Watershed, we would have been left with only the rumors and conjecture found on social media.
It is my opinion that our local government significantly failed the community with its lack of communication at a most difficult time. I hope the CAO and the mayor learn from this event and that they create a plan to deal more effectively with major events in the future.