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Flooding in B.C.’s Fraser Valley, caused by overflow from the Nooksack River in Washington state, is expected to reach its peak Friday, as highways and some schools remain closed and residents assess the damage.
Here is the latest:
The B.C. River Forecast Centre still has a flood warning in place for the Sumas River, including spillover from the Nooksack River.
But it has ended a flood warning for the lower Fraser River, including its tributaries in areas around Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Hope and east through Manning Park.
The centre also ended a flood warning for Similkameen River tributaries including headwater tributaries at and upstream of Princeton and the Tulameen River.
Officials say water levels in Washington state were already receding, but floodwaters being pushed north into B.C. and the Sumas Prairie area were expected to keep rising overnight and peak sometime Friday morning.
Floodwaters are rising again in B.C.’s Fraser Valley on Thursday, even after the rain has stopped. The surge is coming from Washington state, where the Nooksack River is spilling northward for the second time in four years. Atmospheric rivers amped up by climate change are stacking up, and cross-border mitigation work is still dragging on. The CBC’s Johanna Wagstaffe looks into why B.C. is once again waiting for a flood peak it can’t fully control.
More rain coming
Environment Canada has ended rainfall warnings but issued a special weather statement, saying more rainfall is coming “for the already saturated Fraser Valley.”
It says there will be relatively light rain in the region Friday before another system moves into the area Saturday night, “followed by a potentially significant push of moisture Monday and into early next week.”
The B.C. River Forecast Centre says a few days of lighter rain could help create room in many of B.C.’s waterways that are already at or near flooding levels.
Meanwhile, officials in places like Abbotsford are urging residents to stay away from flood waters and be mindful of road closures.
Sgt Walker provides a morning update to the Highway 1 closure in Abbotsford between Sumas Way and Number 3 Road in both directions. Follow our social media channels and Drive BC for the current road conditions and updates. <a href=”https://t.co/kZhwXCXjhF”>pic.twitter.com/kZhwXCXjhF</a>
—AbbyPoliceDept
What has the damage been?
The Transportation Ministry says it is beginning to assess the damage left behind from the flooding.
It says Highway 3 connecting Hope to Alberta has been “severely undermined” and is closed. About 23 sites along that roadway have suffered damage from rockfalls, debris and culvert undermining.
B.C. Agriculture Minister Lana Popham said at a provincial news conference on Friday that 68 farms are included in evacuation orders, while 98 were on evacuation alert.
She confirmed that “a couple” of poultry barns were lost overnight due to flooding, some other animals had to be moved, and the province’s plant animal health centre which tests for things like avian flu was flooded and needs to close for December.
Popham said testing would continue with help from other provinces.
“Testing will still get done,” she said.
Homeowners are dealing with damage too.
Mike and Stacey Yost, who live in Abbotsford near to the border crossing, say around 1.5 metres of water flooded their home on 1 Avenue, forcing them to stay in a hotel.
“We’re completely under water,” said Stacey Yost. “Absolutely stressed out, and I don’t know what is going to happen in the next few days.”
Patti MacAhonic, the Fraser Valley Regional District Area E director, has lived in Chilliwack for 30 years and said this is her third round of flooding.
A creek near her home brought about 25 centimetres of water into her yard and up into her garage. She said most impacted residents are now in recovery mode, but are unsure what may come next.
“They’re just kind of trying to take care of any damage that has been done and get ready for more rain.”
Officials at the provincial update said there had been no reported injuries related to the flooding so far and that all search-and-rescue deployments, including one in the Chilliwack River, had been successful.
They did not say how many total rescues have been undertaken.
Abbotsford mayor blasts feds
The mayor of flood-struck Abbotsford says he is “disappointed and frustrated” with the federal government over “inaction” on cross-border flooding that has repeatedly inundated his city.
Ross Siemens says he has not been contacted by the federal government about this week’s flooding.
Siemens told a news briefing that he’s pleading for flood mitigation to be stepped up, and authorities across the border in Washington state also need to “wake up” and for the issue to part of an international treaty.
Ross Siemens, mayor of Abbotsford, B.C., took issue with the federal government on Friday as his community faces yet another round of devastating flooding. ‘To put my city residents at risk once again, needlessly, because of inaction is frustrating.’
Federal minister responds
Federal Emergency Management Minister Eleanor Olszewski responded to Siemens’s charges shortly after they were made in a statement from her office.
It said she was in close contact with her provincial counterpart Kelly Greene and would speak with the Abbotsford mayor on Friday afternoon “regarding the floods that are affecting his community and his proposals for the future.”
The statement also said 2024 marked an modernization of the the disaster financial assistance arrangement (DFAA) program. It provides a mechanism for the federal government to shares the cost of significant disasters with the provinces.
“The changes included the addition of a specific stream that will focus on long term mitigation so communities can be more resilient and build back better following natural disasters,” it said.
