Deadly winds cause havoc in Seattle, Vancouver
Source: Reuters
(Adds quotes on drowning, details) SEATTLE/VANCOUVER, Dec 15 (Reuters) - A storm packing heavy rains and winds gusting at more than 90 mph (145 km/h) slammed into an already-soggy Pacific Northwest, killing three people, officials said on Friday. A Seattle, Washington, woman drowned in her flooded basement, and more than a million electrical customers were left without power in British Columbia, Washington state and Oregon as wind-toppled trees took down utility lines. The high winds began hitting the Pacific Coast region of Canada and the United States on Thursday. They began to slow on Friday, but not before gusts of up to 69 mph (111 km/h) were recorded by weather forecasters in Seattle and 59 mph (95 km/h) in Vancouver, British Columbia. Local media and utilities reported wind gusts of more than 90 mph. It was the third wind and rain storm to hit parts of the region this week. Storms also caused flooding in November. The winds forced officials to close key bridges in Vancouver and Seattle, causing havoc for morning commuters in both cities as some transit operations were also disrupted. Seattle's 41-year-old drowning victim went into her basement on Thursday evening, but was unable to open a door to get out because of the pressure of the rapidly rising water. Neighbors called rescuers after hearing her screams. "We had firefighters swim under to try and open the door, but they couldn't get it open. So they ended up cutting a hole in the floor above," said Helen Fitzpatrick, a fire department spokeswoman. Two other deaths in Washington state were blamed on traffic accidents caused by falling trees. No deaths were reported in British Columbia, but Vancouver called damage to its traffic signal system unprecedented and closed the city's famed downtown Stanley Park due to fallen trees. Puget Sound Energy estimated about 700,000 customers, or about two-thirds of its customers had lost power. "The storm's ongoing damage rivals, and may even exceed, the notorious Inaugural Day storm of 1993," the Washington state utility said. British Columbia Hydro said more than 240,000 customers were without power in Vancouver and on Vancouver Island, where crews were still struggling to repair damaged from storms that had hit earlier in the week. "We're cautioning customers to prepare for multiple days without electricity," spokeswoman Elisha Moreno said. Oregon's Portland General Electric Co. said it was trying to restore service to 180,000 customers in that state. The Seattle Times and Post-Intelligencer newspapers did not publish on Friday because of power outage at their joint printing operation, which a Times spokeswoman said was a "unique and unprecedented" event. Amtrak canceled passenger rail service between Seattle and Portland, Oregon. The weather also hampered the cleanup of a derailed Canadian Pacific Railway <CP.TO> freight train on track it jointly operates east of Vancouver with Canadian National Railway <CNR.TO>, CN said.
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