Typhoon Freda slams B.C. coast in 1962

A storm that knocked down thousands of trees across Metro Vancouver and caused millions of dollars in damages.

No, it's not the remnants of Super Typhoon Songda pounding British Columbia's South Coast this weekend. It was a violent storm that hit the southern B.C. coast 54 years ago this week. 

Typhoon Freda struck southern B.C. on Oct. 12, 1962. It is the worst storm on record in the Pacific Northwest say meteorological experts.

According to BC Hydro, the storm caused today's equivalent of more than $600 million in damages and seven storm-related deaths. At its peak at 11 p.m. PT, winds reached 145 km/h. 

"This is the worst storm to hit Vancouver in the life of our city," said Tom Alsbury, Vancouver's mayor at the time.

"I think most of our citizens do not realize the appalling extent of the loss we have suffered."

Trees snapped into bits across the region, hydro lines sparked and transformers blew up. 

The loss included 1,000 trees knocked down from city boulevards. Alsbury said the damage in Stanley Park alone was worth $100,000. 

Experts at the time said it would take at least three years to clear up the damage in the park — 3,000 trees were knocked down there. 

Meanwhile, Freda wasn't expected to be as severe as it was. BC Hydro says the typhoon, which originated in Hawaii, was downgraded to a tropical storm as it approached B.C.

But by time it hit the coast, it had combined with a low-pressure system and ended up wreaking havoc across the Lower Mainland.

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'General devastation everywhere'

Jack Westaway, a retired BC Hydro employee in Victoria, was working the night of the storm. 

"It was violent," he said. "Just general devastation everywhere you went. There were trees breaking off and flying across the roads." 

"Wind was just blowing the rain horizontal and trees were weaving all over the place. You didn't know if you were going to get hit or not."

B.C. has experienced many storms since then, but Westaway says he hasn't seen anything like Freda in the more than 50 years since she hit.