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B.C. officials have expanded flood warnings and issued fresh evacuation alerts in the southern part of the province as river levels remain high — and continue to rise in some places — after an atmospheric river hit the region.
Much of the Fraser Valley remains under a flood warning on Thursday, but new warnings have been issued for Princeton and other areas along the upper Similkameen and Tulameen rivers and their tributaries.
Environment and Climate Change Canada lifted heavy rainfall alerts on Thursday — after areas of the Fraser Valley, including Abbotsford, Chilliwack and Hope, were hammered by an intense downpour for 24 hours.
But flooding risk remains for local rivers, including those flowing across the Canada-U.S. border — such as the Nooksack — that continue to swell from the influx of water.
Floodwaters in Sumas Prairie and Huntingdon Village are expected to peak within the next 12 hours, according to the City of Abbotsford.
The city says water levels on the Abbotsford side of the border continue to rise and based on modellings and data taken after floods in 1990, water is anticipated to reach Highway 1 late Thursday evening or early Friday morning.
New evacuation orders as other alerts lifted
An evacuation order for the Princeton Municipal Campground is now in place area due to rising water. The Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen is urging anyone in the area to leave immediately.
The City of Abbotsford expanded its evacuation orders on Thursday to include an additional 82 properties in Huntington Village.
The city had declared a state of local emergency Wednesday night, putting 371 properties in the Sumas Prairie area under evacuation order, while a further 1,069 properties remain on evacuation alert.
The Clayburn Village evacuation alert has since been lifted.
Some highways reopen
DriveBC has updated its list of highway closures and reopenings after all major routes out of the Lower Mainland were closed on Wednesday.
The following major highways are still closed as of 4:30 p.m. PT:
- Highway 1 from Highway 9 to Hope is closed to eastbound traffic.
- Highway 11 to the Sumas border is closed to commercial traffic in both directions.
- Highway 3 from Hope to Princeton is closed due to debris on the highway.
- Highway 8 is closed, except for local traffic.
These highways have been fully or partially reopened:
- Highway 5 (Coquihalla) between Hope and Merritt has reopened following flooding at Sowaqua.
- Highway 7 has partially reopened to single lane alternating traffic following a rockslide.
- Highway 1 has reopened from Yale to Lytton.
- Highway 99 has reopened from Mount Currie to Lillooet.
Get the latest on CBCNews.ca, the CBC News App, and CBC News Network for breaking news and analysis.
Up to 150 mm of rain has fallen since Tuesday
Dave Campbell with the B.C. River Forecast Centre says up to 150 mm of rain has fallen since the atmospheric river made its way into the region Tuesday night.
A summary from Environment Canada says 140 millimetres of rain fell at the Hope airport on Wednesday, 125 mm at Cultus Lake and 110 mm at the Chilliwack airport.
Campbell says another atmospheric river is expected to bring more rain to the region, but it was unclear at this point if it would further affect the current flood situation.
An atmospheric river expected to bring 110 millimetres of rain has triggered a local state of emergency in B.C.’s Fraser Valley and evacuation alerts and orders for dozens of properties. Mayor Ken Popove of Chilliwack, B.C., discusses the latest developments.
Not as severe as 2021 deluge
There have been no reports so far of catastrophic flooding like what was seen in 2021, but officials say that could still occur.
Chilliwack Mayor Ken Popove told CBC’s The Early Edition Thursday morning that he had not heard of any major flooding damage in his area.
“Fingers crossed that things are going to be OK for us out here.”
Campbell said it will be well into Thursday evening before water levels in Washington state rivers drop enough that they stop pushing excess flow north into Canada.
“The impacts of that could really persist through the evening and into tomorrow,” he said.
B.C.’s emergency management minister provides an update on flooding in the Fraser Valley, where torrential rain triggered multiple evacuation orders and large-scale highway closures Wednesday.
State of emergency in Washington
Washington state was under a state of emergency Thursday morning from a barrage of torrential rain that has sent rivers flowing over their banks, caused a mudslide to crash down on a highway and trapped people in floodwaters.
Tens of thousands of residents could face evacuation orders there, according to local officials.
After days of seemingly unrelenting heavy rain, Gov. Bob Ferguson declared a state-wide emergency Wednesday night, warning “lives will be at stake in the coming days.”
Some residents have already been ordered to higher ground, with Skagit County, a major agricultural region north of Seattle, ordering those within the Skagit River’s floodplain to evacuate.
Amtrak trains between Seattle and Vancouver have been suspended.
Flood watches and high streamflow advisories are also in place across much of the southern portion of B.C.
