Hundreds of buildings in Vancouver are flooding because of bursting pipes

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Officials are warning about the possibility of more flooding caused by bursting pipes in Metro Vancouver as the temperature is set to return to more seasonal levels by the end of the work week.

It comes after Vancouver experienced a significantly cold few days in BC, with extreme cold warnings issued and threats of -30°C wind chill in the mountains over the weekend.

But, then it warmed up.

As a result, many businesses, homeowners, the airport, and even a hospital all saw their pipes burst and litres of water soaked properties in the last few days.

Anyone have a decent sized shop vac we could borrow? 104 and University Dr
byu/TheGhostOfStanSweet inSurreyBC

But the worst is not yet behind us.

That’s according to Vancouver and Rescue Captain Matthew Trudeau, who says the situation is “chaotic for fire crews” right now.

YVR tells us a pipe malfunction has caused a leak inside its domestic terminal pic.twitter.com/pbT4UBAOX6

— Megan Devlin (@MegDevlinn) January 12, 2024

“We are into the hundreds of calls,” Trudeau said Tuesday.

Power is fully restored at UBC Vancouver. Any staff or faculty who note water/flooding issues in campus buildings are asked to call 604-822-2173. pic.twitter.com/QsLMpU8XAE

— UBC Media Relations (@UBCNews) January 14, 2024

Why does fire respond to flooding calls? It turns out that when the sprinkler systems in many buildings are activated or broken by the pipes and the temperature fluctuations, it triggers a call to fire.

Crews are responding as quickly as they can but there’s something that has been slowing them down.

“Urgent reminder that building owners and operators should know where all shut-off valves are located in case of an emergency. As temperatures increase more pipes will likely break,” the service posted on social media.

I saw some burst pipes when I walked by BC cancer. I’ve never seen -13 degrees in Vancouver as far as I can remember. pic.twitter.com/fp3YhdhzHR

— Ashley Yang (@AshleyYang98) January 12, 2024

Trudeau says that in some cases people are shutting them off themselves, which turns into a serious fire concern.

“If there is a domestic water problem, we are asking people to isolate the water as much as possible and call a plumber. If a sprinkler system component fails and causes water flow, we are asking people to call 911 and have crews attend,” he said.

For many, it’s now time to mop up the mess and hope that their insurance claims come through quickly.

“A pipe broke in my condo yesterday, 105A and University Drive. [Sixteen] of my neighbours are in hotels or elsewhere. Horrible,” one person said on Reddit.

“May I add, the fire dept was prompt. Said we were the fifth one yesterday. Guy also said pipes all over the city are bursting — very busy,” another person said.

Others aren’t as sympathetic.

“This is why I bought four rolls of Shamwows at the PNE instead of just two,” another person said on social media.

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