Gregory Whittaker said he was up half the night in Pemberton Meadows, B.C., listening to rain pound down outside, while nearby Miller Creek was “getting angry.”

A series of atmospheric rivers have been battering B.C.’s south coast, and after Whittaker’s sleepless night, the province’s River Forecast Centre upgraded flood watches to warnings on Wednesday in the Pemberton Valley, as well as Howe Sound, Sea to Sky and the North Shore of Metro Vancouver.

The drenching that saw more than 200 millimetres of rain fall in some places in a 24-hour period also forced an evacuation for parts of the Village of Pemberton, just south of Whittaker’s home.

The order issued Wednesday afternoon covers properties on Airport Road, including the community’s airport, its waste water treatment facility, wildland fire management base and a public golf course.

“All persons within the affected area are required to leave immediately and follow the directions of emergency personnel,” the village’s order said, citing “immediate danger to life safety caused by flooding.”

The community about 160 kilometres north of Vancouver said on social media Wednesday morning that flooding had happened around One Mile Lake, including sections of trail, and urged residents to stay clear of flooded areas and flowing water.

Despite the warning, 50-year-old Whittaker went out on a rainy Remembrance Day hike to check out the levels of Miller Creek, which converges with the Lillooet River northwest of Pemberton.

Videos he shot show the creek as a roaring torrent of white water.

“It’s more of a spectacle at this point,” he said of the rising water levels, noting he lives above the floodplain so is generally not concerned about his property flooding.

But Whittaker acknowledged conditions could change overnight.

“We’re supposed to get round three of heavy rain this evening so, you know, it could be a whole other story tomorrow. We’ll have to see what happens,” he said Wednesday.

Environment Canada meteorologist Jennifer Hay said in an interview that 24-hour rainfall reached 214 millimetres in Port Mellon, about 50 kilometres northwest of Vancouver, by Wednesday morning, while Howe Sound had received 79 millimetres and West Vancouver Island-Kennedy Lake nearly 140 millimetres.

“The system is coming across, so it’s currently along the coast (and) lots of areas are still getting rain,” she said Wednesday morning.

She said a rainfall warning over the Vancouver and Fraser Valley regions had been dropped, although it could be reissued as another system moved in.

While parts of the province including Metro Vancouver experienced a morning lull in the storms that have been sweeping across the region since last week, the River Forecast Centre said more rain was forecast throughout Wednesday, with weather models indicating another 100 millimetres through the Sea to Sky corridor, and up to 100 millimetres through west and central Vancouver Island.

The centre said rivers in the South Coast region had been “rising rapidly,” with the Stawamus, Clowhom, and Squamish rivers and Tofino Creek all exhibiting high flow rates.

Orange rainfall warnings that were raised by Environment Canada on Monday remained in place for Howe Sound and the Sea to Sky regions.

The weather office warned residents of central B.C. that the “strong and slow-moving” system would bring damaging winds, with gusts reaching around 100 kilometres an hour in some areas, before easing Wednesday night.

It said utility outages were likely and driving may be difficult, with risk of injury due to falling debris.

The River Forecast Centre said in its warning that people should continue to stay away from river banks as the fast flow of water increases the risk of bank instability.

“Continued rises in river levels are expected into Thursday in response to additional rainfall,” the warning said.

B.C.’s Transportation Ministry urged drivers to monitor conditions and prepare for high winds, heavy rainfall and possible flooding in southern coastal regions for the rest of the week.

Hay said there was a “break coming” on Thursday or early Friday, though “another quite strong system” was expected between Friday and Sunday.

“It looks it’s not until well into the 15th or the 16th where we do see a change of pattern, everything dries out and the temperatures probably will drop,” she said.