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Rainfall warnings are back in effect across British Columbia’s flood-soaked Fraser Valley as another wave of wet weather moves into the region, just days after cross-border flooding inundated parts of Abbotsford.
Environment Canada says the valley, including Abbotsford, Metro Vancouver, and the Sea-to-Sky corridor can expect the new system to bring “significant rain” of up to 80 millimetres with the heaviest downpours on Monday.
The weather agency is also warning of possible landslides in vulnerable areas, including steep slopes, deforested regions and recent burn scars.
While floodwaters in Abbotsford have been receding, officials say the region remains vulnerable.
The City of Abbotsford lifted evacuation alerts for 1,069 properties in Sumas Prairie West and Sumas Prairie East Saturday evening. Another 160 properties were downgraded from an evacuation order to an evacuation alert, including most properties along Angus Campbell Road and Huntingdon Village.
However, evacuation orders remain in place for 325 properties throughout Sumas Prairie. The city says its interactive evacuation map has been updated and is searchable by address.
In Chilliwack, officials have warned that local rivers are expected to swell, which may cause localized flooding, but not as much as earlier in the week.
While some transportation routes through the Fraser Valley remain shut, the province says Highway 1, westbound between Highway 11 and No. 3 Rd through Abbotsford, opened Saturday evening.
The Ministry of Transportation said in a news release that the highway’s eastbound lanes remain closed as they are still covered by water. Drivers must continue to take a detour to Highway 7 and Highway 9 for travels between the Lower Mainland and eastern parts of the Fraser Valley.
‘Totally cut off’
For some residents, flood impacts are far from over.
Abbotsford farmer Jesse Fuller says his family has been trapped on their property for nearly two days after floodwaters cut off road access.
“Our access is totally cut off by this, the road being flooded over,” Fuller said. “On top of that, we’re still another three to four feet deep just to get up our driveway to the farm.”
Fuller said he has been using a fishing boat to leave the property and pick up supplies.
“It’s what we have to do so we can stay fed.”
His property is located within an evacuation zone, but Fuller says he can’t leave.
“There’s my wife, three little kids, horses and other animals with us,” he said. “You don’t leave your animals.”
North of Highway 1, residents have also been surveying the damage. Teresa Vogel went to Delair Park on Saturday after floodwaters surrounded the baseball diamond where her son plays.
Vogel said it was devastating and she was shocked to see the baseball diamond surrounded by water, though it had receded since the day before.
The floodwaters in Abbotsford, B.C., are beginning to recede after the Fraser Valley was inundated with heavy rain earlier this week. The flood prompted evacuation orders for hundreds of properties and alerts for hundreds more. As Janella Hamilton reports, the community is now bracing for another wave of rain.
“I can’t believe I was walking on that field months ago, and now you can’t even go down there,” she told The Canadian Press. “When we got the news that it was flooded here at Delair, it was shocking, more shocking when you come and see it in person.”
Nearby resident Cindy Braun said seeing floodwaters over the highway brought back memories of the devastating floods in 2021.
“We said, ‘Oh brother, not again,’” she said. “That one was much worse, but it’s still scary watching the water rise.”
All of the current rainfall warnings issued by Environment Canada are yellow alerts.
The agency updated its weather warning system last month to include a colour-coded, risk-based approach. Yellow, the most common alert, indicates hazardous weather that could cause moderate or localized impacts, such as service disruptions or minor damage.
Orange alerts are issued when forecasters expect severe weather with widespread or lasting impacts, while red alerts are reserved for extreme, potentially life-threatening events.
Despite the improving conditions in some areas, officials are urging caution as the new system moves in, advising drivers to avoid flooded roads and residents to monitor conditions closely over the coming days.
