It was just a few years ago, back at the end of 2006, that Vancouver had one of its worst windstorms in recorded history. I remember not really noticing the wind too much, since I was indoors for most of the day and all night, but the next day, I was really amazed at the amount of devastation shown on the news. Stanley Park was hit especially hard, with more than a thousand old growth trees either knocked over, roots and all, or broken. Some of those trees had actually been standing strong in Stanley Park for hundreds of years, but were no more. It took months to clean up the mess after that, and some areas of the park were closed to the public for quite some time.

Well, just a few days ago, on Good Friday, Vancouver got hit by another massive windstorm–the strongest since the 2006 storm, but not nearly as damaging. I really felt it this time, too, since I was out walking around downtown, and there were times when the wind stopped me in my tracks and tossed me around a bit.

The winds gusted to more than 100 km/h, forcing the cancellation of BC Ferries sailings, and temporarily closing Lion’s Gate Bridge, Stanley Park, and the causeway. According to various news sites, more than 30,000 people lost power around the Lower Mainland, and more than 100,000 on Vancouver Island.

The next day, I was surprised to see quite a few large branches that had been ripped off trees in my area. I took a few pictures of them to help show how bad the damage was in some places.

This tree branch knocked over a section of fence

Same tree from another angle

Another one right across the street. Luckily, the hedge was the only thing that got crushed.

For more information about this windstorm, and some great photos, I recommend checking out the following links:

http://www.globaltvbc.com/world/Windstorm+closes+Stanley+Park/2758002/story.html
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