Thousands of people who have been without power for days are being warned by B.C. Hydro that they may want to leave their homes before the next big storm hits the South Coast on Thursday night.

There are 22,000 families still without electricity, and B.C. Hydro spokeswoman Elisha Moreno warns that some of them, especially in smaller remote communities, might not get power back before the next storm hits.

The windstorms have cut power to tens of thousands of Vancouver Island residents this week.
(CBC)

Moreno said they should consider leaving their homes to stay with friends, or go to a hotel.

"Customers need to understand that these are significant weather events and there has been quite a bit of damage to the B.C. Hydro system as a result. This is a major challenge and an undertaking for us and people need to understand the enormity of the situation, especially with another storm coming through."

Hydro had warned earlier that some communities might not get their power back until next week.

The hardest hit areas are on northern Vancouver Island, the Gulf lsands and the Sunshine Coast.

There are 70 Hydro crews on the Island, with reinforcements being brought in from the Lower Mainland and even Alberta.

No heat, no water on Quadra Island

Jim Abrams, a director of the regional district that includes Quadra Island calls the situation there "grim," as  people are running out of gas to power their generators.

"They've been sitting for some time with no heat, and an inability to pump water because their water pumps are not able to run without power," he told CBC News.

He added there are still power lines down on the ground, and says the island is in a state of emergency.

It could soon get worse , as B.C.'s South Coast braces for the third big storm this week, with meteorologists warning it could do the most damage, with wind gusts of up to 90 km/h in Greater Vancouver.