Elections BC is making preparations in case of power outages on election day, as Vancouver Island braces for a moderate atmospheric river system event this weekend.
Spokesperson Andrew Watson says they'll be working with BC Hydro to make sure all voting places are prepared in case of any power outages on Saturday.
"We also have paper back-ups for all of our systems in case there is a power outage and we need to go to a manual procedure."
Environment Canada meteorologist Trevor Smith says Victoria may not be as hard hit as the rest of the Island -- but will still get a soaking.
"We will see quite a range of rainfall amounts and wind speeds," he said. "Victoria probably will get a bit of the rain shadow effect, it's still going to rain there, but it might be in that 20 to 40 millimetre range for this event.
The latest update is that Greater Victoria could be in for 40-60mm of rain before the system moves on mid-afternoon Sunday.
Northern and West Vanncouver Island communities could get a lot more rain.
River Forecast Centre issued a flood watch for Vancouver Island, which marks the first significant event of the season for the Island. Current weather modelling is indicating the highest rainfall amounts across western Vancouver Island with total rainfall amounts forecast in the 80mm to 150mm range and the potential to reach 200mm to 300mm over higher terrain.
The prolonged rainfall forecast is expected to extend through into Sunday. Rivers are anticipated to rise rapidly in response to rainfall and may exceed 5-year to 20-year flows on the Island.
NDP Leader David Eby was asked if he was worried that it might impact voter turnout in Saturday's provincial election. He suggested that how political leaders understand and respond to these sorts of weather events are a ballot box question for many British Columbians.
Eby asked, "is [the province] going to be led by someone who recognizes these events are real, they're happening more frequently, we need to protect communities, or someone who says they're a hoax?"