Officials say the rainfall has started to ease in the Fraser Valley, while the river flows in the Nooksack River are expected to peak at 10 p.m. and ease by early morning.
The Emergency Management Ministry called for the urgent online update Wednesday night (Dec. 10) to address the flooding situation in the Fraser Valley, as well as road and highway closures. It came shortly after the Transportation and Transit Ministry urged drivers to avoid travel in the Fraser Valley, specifically in areas where there is risk of flood.
“I know this will be a sleepless night for many people that are all too familiar with this stress and anxiety,” Emergency Management Minister Kelly Greene said.
Connie Chapman, the executive director of water management, said the Nooksack River, south of the border in Washington State did top its banks around 2 p.m. – just as the Emergency Management Ministry was holding an earlier news conference to warn of possible flooding overnight.
She said that Nooksack River flows are expected to peak around 10 p.m. and the river will hold that state “until roughly in the early morning, around 4 to 6 a.m.” Chapman added the Nooksack flow should start to see flows decline and enter back into its banks by 10 a.m. Thursday.
Earlier in the day, Greene and David Campbell, the head of B.C.’s River Forecast Centre, warned that flooding could be imminent.
Campbell said the United State’s National Weather Service was expecting the peak on the Nooksack River at Cedarville, Wash. to be 148.5 feet.
It was at 146.3 feet prior to the 2 p.m. news conference.
In 2021, the river went up to 150.3 feet.
Chapman said Wednesday night that the volume of water coming out of the Nooksack is similar to the volume seen in 1990 and also in 2021. However, she said there are “many variables to take into consideration.”
“We could potentially see situations similar to what was experienced in 2021 and 1990 or we could see different scenarios where maybe there isn’t as much impact, and the flows are able to be absorbed by the surrounding watershed.”
Stronger monitoring stations have been installed on both sides of the border, along with cameras on the Canadian side.
Chapman said those monitoring stations are gauging stations that provide additional information regarding flows within the streams. She added that it has allowed the province to use the data in the model “to be able to provide a more accurate sort of picture with what is going on within the watershed.”
The provincial government and B.C.’s River Forecast Centre is also working closely with Washington State.
Washington State Governor Bob Ferguson said earlier Wednesday on social media that his government was anticipating potentially 100,000 people in the state facing evacuation orders. He signed an emergency declaration in response to the “intense flooding,” calling on support from the U.S. federal government.
Ferguson also said 300 national guard members were expected to be at the ready by Thursday morning.
Asked what B.C.’s plans were in response to severe flooding, Greene said the provincial and local governments and First Nations are “prepared to respond to this evolving situation.”
“We’re in a much more knowledgeable spot than we have been historically, and that’s helping with preparation.”
She added there are crews ready on standby to help local governments, if needed.
“We have pre-positioned flood control resources in the area to make sure that should we need any of these flood control materials that they’re available, like sandbags, water, dams and other materials