The 300 millimetres of rain that have fallen on Chilliwack since Sunday wiped out landscaping, flooded homes and left behind mud and debris. One homeowner returned to find a twenty pound salmon washed up on his lawn.

For another Chilliwack resident, it wasn't what was left behind that concerned him -- it was what was missing.

Upon returning home to inspect the damage, Robert Alm noticed someone had stolen his stereo and tried to take off with his computer. What the looter left behind, Mother Nature destroyed.

"Mud, warped floors, and possibility of foundation shifting," lamented Alm.

But Alm and others victimized by floodwaters can expect help from the government.

The province  is making disaster financial assistance available for uninsured losses.

"In other words, if you have an overland flow of water, that is something for which insurance is not available, and that will be compensated," said B.C. Solicitor General John Les.

Homeowners will have to apply for the assistance. A maximum of $300,000 will be available to homeowners to cover the property damage.

While the cost of the damage has not yet been tallied, climatologists spent Tuesday adding up how much rain fell in the province, and trying to determine if the wild weather is really unusual at all.

David Phillips of Environment Canada noted that British Columbia's rainfall was below average for much of the past year.

Residents in Chilliwack agree, saying just a few weeks ago many were commenting on low the river level was.

A long dry spell in the summer caused a Labour Day water shortage in Tofino, a town in the middle of a rainforest.

"Since April 1 you've been on a shortfall," said Phillips, "it's almost like overdrawing the bank. And lo and behold, nature gave it back to you."

Phillips expects by the end of 2006, B.C. will be at an average level of precipitation, although this week's flood in Chilliwack was a one-in-50 year event.

Another storm is on the way in time for the weekend. Environment Canada says the weather system that brought the torrential downfall may be on track to hit again Friday.

The "Pineapple Express" is the meteorological nickname for the subtropical jet stream that crosses the pacific from Hawaii, bringing with it warm temperatures with heavy rainfall.

The phenomenon tends to ease up for a couple of days, and then bring another surge of showers.

"It comes in fits and starts, like a dotted line on a piece of paper," said CTV's Todd Battis. "We're being told here that Friday could be another devastating day."

The worst of the downpour is now hovering just north of Seattle, Washington. Washington governor Chris Gregoire has declared a state of emergency in 18 counties.

Vancouver Island has also been battered with heavy rain, where hundreds of homes and businesses were also flooded. Tuesday night, the road between Victoria and Sooke was still closed.