Additional evacuation orders for Abbotsford as floodwaters cross into Canada

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Floodwaters from the Nooksack River have crossed into Abbotsford on Thursday (Dec. 11) morning and have led to evacuation orders for 82 properties in the Huntingdon Village area.

The orders cover Sumas Way up to 2nd Avenue in south Abbotsford near the Sumas border crossing.

An evacuation order remains in place for 371 properties in Sumas Prairie West and evacuation alerts are active for 1,069 properties in Sumas Prairie East and West. In positive news, the evacuation alert for Clayburn Village has been lifted.

For an interactive map with all the details, click anywhere in this sentence.

The River Forecast at North Cedarville shows the Nooksack River reached major flood stage and peaked at the gauge at 3 a.m. on Thursday. It’s now believed that this flooding event is tracking similarly to the 1990 flood, which was a lesser event than 2021.

The City stated that a total of 15 families spent the night at the reception centre at the Abbotsford Recreation Centre (2499 McMillan Rd.). The centre will remain open to provide immediate shelter and assistance for residents impacted by these orders.

The City also shared that farmers have been working through the night to remove livestock from the area. A total of 165 farming operations with livestock are currently in the evacuation area, 66 of those under evacuation order. Farmers are encouraged to reach out to their industry association and Ministry of Agriculture and Foods (af.em@gov.bc.ca) for available support.

Crews are also responding to a landslide on the south-east corner of Sumas Prairie, which is currently impacting one property as well as the SRY rail line.

The Sumas border crossing remains closed at this time. Sand and sandbags are available at Albert Dyck Park at 31515 Walmsley Ave. (people are asked to bring their own shovels).

David Campbell, the head of the River Forecast Centre for BC, stated in a press conference that the Sumas area is now the focus for the next 24 hours.

“We are anticipating to see the continued rise through the Sumas system throughout the day today, into the evening, potentially overnight, and really being into tomorrow before we start to see that whole system receding,” he said. “So really cautioning that while some areas are improving into the valley the Sumas particularly, we do expect to see the potential for ongoing challenging conditions as we go through the day to day.”

He added that more rain is expected next week, but it’s a bit early right now to say what type of risk that added rain will create.

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