More than 7,000 without power as high winds hammer Vancouver Island

More than 7,000 Vancouver Island homes and businesses were without power Thursday as high winds caused damage across the region.

Environment Canada issued a wind warning for residents on the South Island just before 3 p.m., saying strong southeast winds could gust as high as 90 km/h near Haro Strait.

The weather service said the winds were expected to ease in the evening as a frontal system moves through the area.

"Loose objects may be tossed by the wind and cause injury or damage," the weather service said. "High winds may toss loose objects or cause tree branches to break."

As of 5:30 p.m., nearly 5,200 residents on the South Island (including Salt Spring Island) and more than 30 people in the Nanaimo region and Qualicum Beach area were without power, according to BC Hydro.

While some of the outages were still under investigation, many of the most significant outages, like one that was impacting more than 2,500 people in Metchosin, were due to trees that had fallen onto power lines.

The wind warning comes one day after Environment Canada issued a rainfall warning for communities on the West Island.

Residents are urged to monitor alerts and forecasts issued by Environment Canada. 

To report severe weather, send an email to [e-mail] or tweet reports using the hashtag #BCStorm.

For updates on power outages, visit BC Hydro's website online here.