The City of Abbotsford evacuated the Huntingdon Village area early Sunday morning as heavy rain associated with the latest atmospheric river continued to pound the already flood-ravaged region overnight.
City officials said they ordered the evacuation of 90 properties around 3:30 a.m. when about 50 millimetres of water began to flow north across the U.S. border, out of concern Washington state’s Nooksack River had begun to flood again.
The order covers the area between 2nd Avenue, Sumas Way and the U.S. border.
“For people’s safety and as a precautionary measure we decided we were going to pull the pin and put an evacuation order out for Huntingdon,” Mayor Henry Braun told Global News Morning.
As it turned out, the water was not from the river, which as of 9:30 a.m. remained just below minor flood stage.
“This is rainfall and snowmelt from Mount Baker. Those fields are all super saturated. The water can’t go anywhere, so its skating across those fields, coming across the border,” Braun said.
Canadian Armed Forces troops and scores of volunteers had spent much of Saturday sandbagging in Huntingdon Village with the hopes of diverting any floodwaters away from homes.
Officials in Washington believe the river, which was responsible for much of the prior flooding in Abbotsford, will peak around noon or 1 p.m., Braun said. Whether the river breaks its banks at that point or not will be critical.
“Today is pivotal. This is the moment. And we won’t know for a few more hours what’s going to happen,” Braun said.
“When it gets to flood stage, that’s the critical part. If their repairs to the breaches they have hold and the Nooksack stays in its channel, we’re going to be OK. It’s going to get close. I could see those dikes topping at our end right to the top.”
To the west, Aldergrove Regional Park was also closed Sunday morning due to flooding caused by heavy rain.
Flood watches were also issued overnight for the Tulameen, Similkameen, Coldwater and Nicola rivers.
The second in a series of atmospheric rivers moved in Saturday bringing steady rainfall that Environment Canada doesn’t expect to let up until the afternoon. However, a third atmospheric river, possibly one of even greater intensity, is forecast to arrive on Tuesday.
The Squamish-Lillooet Regional District has issued an evacuation alert for 18 properties in the Pemberton Meadows area, while the Thompson-Nicola Regional District has done so for another 49 properties outside Merritt and Spences Bridge. Residents there have been advised to pack essential items and be ready to leave at a moment’s notice if conditions worsen.
Dozens of communities remain on flood watch and weather alerts are currently posted across southern B.C.
As a preemptive measure, Highway 1 through the Fraser Canyon, Highway 3 between Hope and Princeton and Highway 99 between Pemberton and Lillooet were closed yesterday amid storm warnings. The Transportation Ministry notes the highways were previously impacted by extreme weather, and it says their reopening will depend on weather conditions.
BC Drive also reported overnight that flooding had forced the closure of a 4.8 kilometre stretch of Highway 7 in Maple Ridge.
In the prime agricultural area of Abbotsford, Mayor Henry Braun said yesterday that while he was confident the city could handle this weekend’s rainfall, it could not handle another overflow of the Nooksack River into Sumas Prairie.
The Nooksack runs south of the border and Braun said American officials have informed him its dikes were damaged in the last flood.
The mayor added that he has spoken with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier John Horgan about the importance of supporting critical diking and drainage infrastructure in the long term.
With files from the Canadian Press
© 2021 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
‘Today is pivotal’: Area of Abbotsford evacuated as city braces for more flooding - Globalnews.ca
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