RCMP have begun airlifting residents from a B.C. reserve where flood waters are rising due to heavy rains.

Sgt. Phil Lue said Saturday that nearly 100 residents of Kingcome Inlet on the B.C. coast would be flown by helicopter to a welcoming centre in Alert Bay off Vancouver Island.

"They were pretty nervous about the rising water," he said. "They got a lot of rain."

Meanwhile, a state of emergency has been lifted in the Vancouver Island community of Port Hardy, where heavy rains flooded homes and roads.

"A lot of the flooding is draining off," Lue said.

The rain that began pounding the region of 4,500 people on Friday had subsided by late Saturday afternoon.

A local civic centre that was opened as an emergency shelter has now been closed.

A large tree crashed into the only bridge leading into and out of the Gwa'Sala"Nakwaxda'xw First Nation on Vancouver Island during the storm Friday night. (Submitted by Paddy Walkus)

And a bridge into the Gwa'Sala"Nakwaxda'xw First Nation near Port Hardy that police and residents feared would be washed out is now being used, Lue said.

Four of five roads that were closed are now open again and power has been restored, he said.

"The road that's closed is a forestry road and it has huge chunks of road missing."

Heavy rains also triggered a mudslide late Friday in Port Alice, about a 45-minute drive from Port Hardy.

A wall of mud has blocked access to part of the village and the local pulp mill.

Police said the slide came down Rumble Mountain onto Marine Drive, blocking the roadway with mud and debris about 4½ metres high and 30 metres wide.

About 55 workers had to be transported to the town by boat. Officials said no one was injured and damage does not appear to be extensive.

"The mill is isolated," Lue said, adding the mud cannot be removed until it's examined by Environment Ministry experts who will assess the risk of further slides.

Lue said a man who was living in a cabin behind the pulp mill has been airlifted out.

"The message [to his family] was, 'Please come and get me because my cabin is going to go into the lake."'

However, up to three people in the area waved off a helicopter, Lue said.

A search and rescue team will try to remove the people from the area on Sunday, he said.

Nearly 16,000 BC Hydro customers on northern Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast were without power Saturday morning, most because of trees down across hydro wires. By Saturday afternoon, about 5,000 people were still without power.

BC Hydro said it hoped to have power restored to the remaining customers by Saturday evening.

Officials worry there may be more damage in coming days, since more rain and winds are in the forecast.

Environment Canada issued a rainfall warning for northern Vancouver Island on Saturday, saying as much as 80 millimetres of rain could fall overnight. Heavy winds of up to 80 km/h were also expected in the area.

(With files from CBC News)