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PHOTOS: Severe rain, hail forces evacuation of B.C. homeless camp, flooding

Maple Ridge streets flooded, part of mall roof collapses.
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Severe rains and hail brought flooding to Maple Ridge streets on Friday evening, and the homeless camp had to be evacuated.

The road leading Anita Tent City in downtown Maple Ridge, 223rd Street, looked like a river minutes after the storm cell hit, around 4 p.m.

Maple Ridge Mayor Nicole Read wrote on the Anita Place Tent City Facebook page that the city had deployed its emergency response protocols to ensure life safety at the camp.

According to another report, tent city residents were taken to either the gym at the Leisure Centre or the Greg Moore Youth Centre.

Environment Canada issued a severe weather warning for Maple Ridge, Coquitlam, Surrey and Langley earlier in the day.

A thunderstorm hit the Lower Mainland, snarling rush-hour traffic and rain and hail flooded Maple Ridge streets.

According to reports, part of the roof at Valley Fair Mall collapsed. A seniors’ home was flooded, as were many roads, submerging vehicles up to their wheel wheels.

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Flooding in Maple Ridge near the Haney Bypass on Friday evening after a severe storm. (Contributed)
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Neil Corbett

About the Author: Neil Corbett

I have been a journalist for more than 30 years, the past decade with the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows News.
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