About 63,000 British Columbians remained without power at 7 a.m. Sunday after a second storm brought strong winds and damaged electrical equipment, Global News reported, citing BC Hydro.

The number was down from approximately 135,000 at the storm’s peak around 1 a.m. Surrey, Duncan, Port Hardy and Prince George were among the hardest-hit communities. Falling trees and branches damaged power lines, poles and other equipment, according to the utility.

The latest storm added to more than 380,000 outages recorded since the first storm arrived Friday. BC Hydro said power had been restored to approximately 317,000 customers, but continuing winds threatened to cause further damage.

“Our crews are making good progress, but with strong winds continuing this morning, we expect to see additional damage and outages before conditions improve,” BC Hydro spokesperson Whitney Deane said.

The utility said restoration estimates would be updated as crews reached affected locations. It urged people to stay at least 10 metres from downed, damaged or low-hanging power lines and call 911 to report them.

Successive atmospheric rivers have brought the weekend’s severe weather. Environment Canada issued wind and rainfall warnings for Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland, with gusts forecast to reach 90 km/h. Some areas, including parts of Metro Vancouver’s North Shore, could receive up to 50 millimetres of rain.

Special weather statements also covered parts of the B.C. Interior, where gusts of 60 to 80 km/h were forecast, with a stronger push reaching 90 km/h in western areas as a cold front moved through. Winds were expected to ease by Sunday evening.

Most BC Ferries services were operating Sunday after warnings of possible cancellations Saturday. Environment Canada said a third storm expected Monday could bring a more prolonged period of rain to the coast through the coming week.

Source: Global News reporting by Sean Previl, with files from Rachel Morgan and Amy Judd.

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