The first in a series of powerful storms dubbed a “triple threat” is expected to batter Vancouver Island with a deluge of rain and winds of up to 80 kilometres an hour Wednesday night.

Environment Canada issued a special weather statement Wednesday for all of Vancouver Island and parts of the province’s South Coast. 

The first storm expected to hit around midnight Wednesday will bring between 30 to 50 millimetres of rain for the Greater Victoria area, with two more storms expected to make landfall early Friday and later Saturday, respectively, according to the agency.

“Everybody is going to feel the impacts of this first storm,” said Armel Castellan, Warning Preparedness Meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada. “We’re going to see lots of rainfall, and potentially some winds. Maybe even 80, perhaps 90 kilometres an hour.”

Rainfall from all three storms is expected to be heavy and could exceed 200 millimetres for west and inland parts of Vancouver Island, while inner coastal regions could see more than 100 millimetres of rain or more at higher elevations.

“That’s really quite strong especially when you consider that it’s happening in a 72-hour window,” said Castellan. “Just to put things into perspective, when we get a day with even 20 millimetres, it feels like quite a strong rainy day.”

Flooding is possible, especially if culverts and storm drains become plugged, he said.

The high winds could also cause problems for high-rise buildings with balconies – and many apartment owners and renters are being warned to take precautions.

Residents of Promontory at Bayview Place in Vic West received warnings instructing them to tie down almost everything on their balconies.

“I’ve seen a lot of cushions go disappearing down into Esquimalt…we’ve seen chairs come off of balconies,” said concierge Jesse Robinson. “Some pretty heavy even cast iron items can be lifted up, so you have to be very careful.”

Residents are being urged to keep catch basins clear to prevent theirs and neighbours’ homes from flooding.

BC Hydro is asking residents to prepare for prolonged power outages less than a week after a separate storm knocked out electricity to homes all over the South Island.

The company has posted a Q&A on its website detailing what residents can expect and what they should do if their power goes out.

The City of Victoria has also put out a release reminding homeowners of what they can do to prevent flooding. The city is also asking anyone who witnesses water pooling to report it to city crews by calling 250-361-0400 for assistance. 

Environment Canada is asking anyone to tweet reports of severe weather using the hashtag #BCStorm.

Correction: An earlier version of this story reported Environment Canada warned of up to 400 millimetres of rain on Vancouver Island. While a meteorologist did provide this information in an interview with CTV Vancouver Island, the story has been amended to reflect the agency's weather statement, which said the island can expect up to 200 millimetres of precipitation.