Overflow from Washington State’s Nooksack River worsened major flooding across B.C.’s Fraser Valley on Friday, forcing evacuations, flooding farmland and closing schools.
Highway 1, the main route linking Metro Vancouver to the rest of Canada, was transformed into a body of water late Thursday, as flooding quickly overtook the Trans-Canada Highway.
Traffic-control worker John Raines was surprised how suddenly the situation escalated.
“It was chaos. It must’ve been 35 minutes before it went from like nothing on the highway until the highway was gone,” he said.
Raines said he could barely keep ahead of the water on foot, even when walking uphill.
“It was scary how fast it came up the road. We were walking away while it chased us it felt like.”
Police said thousands of drivers were moved off the highway safely, with one exception: a driver who officers say ignored the closure and had to be rescued by boat.
“That individual decided to go around a road closure sign and entered into a flooded area,” said Sgt. Paul Walker of Abbotsford Police. “He had to be rescued off the roof of his car.”
In conjunction with Central Fraser Valley Search and Rescue, police conducted wellness checks of residents on flooded properties who remained in their homes. They also set out in boats to patrol evacuated areas.
“We have seen boats that have been launched from civilians in the area and others that are cruising around in these evacuated areas,” Walker said. “It’s just making contact with those people, ensuring that they are legitimately allowed to be here, that they are connected with farms, and ensuring that there’s no criminal activity taking place.”
Close to 500 properties were under evacuation order Friday afternoon, when emergency officials declared the water had peaked and was beginning to recede.
Residents described growing anxiety as the region relived memories of the catastrophic 2021 floods, part of the costliest disaster in British Columbia history.
“A lot of people just have PTSD right now,” said Amanda Balaban, whose partner Andrew Gietema runs a dairy farm.
Balaban said water had entered the couple’s basement, but the barn remained dry. They had been told to evacuate, but Gietema said he was staying on the property to feed and milk his cows.
“We’ve got to keep going here,” he said, “We’re going to stick around.”
While officials emphasized the current flooding is not as severe as 2021, Abbotsford Mayor Ross Siemens called out Ottawa for a lack of support. He said the federal government rejected a funding request related to a long-term flood mitigation plan.
“Enough is enough, we need action and we need action now,” Siemens said. “We’ve done everything, including almost standing on our heads to be noticed and to be heard, and again, to be disappointed by our federal government.”
Siemens added no one from Ottawa had reached out to him this week.
When asked about Siemens’ claim, Mathis Denis, director of communications for Emergency Management Minister Eleanor Olszewski, said the ministry had since reached out to the Abbotsford mayor and the two scheduled a call.
As difficult as the past two days have been for people in the region, officials warned the emergency is not yet over. Forecasters called for more rain to hit the region over the weekend, with the heaviest precipitation expected to arrive Sunday.
