Abbotsford state of emergency extended as community braces for third atmospheric river

Abbotsford, B.C. -

A local state of emergency has been extended for another week in Abbotsford, as the community braces for a third atmospheric river system to hit the region.

“We are now through the second of the three weather events that have been forecast to impact our community,” Abbotsford’s mayor Henry Braun said during a news conference Monday.

“Although the Nooksack River overflowed (Sunday), we did not see any water cross over from Washington State in the eastern portion of the Sumas Prairie,” he added. “It’s good news as that remains the most critically impacted area.”

Much of the region has been underwater for more than two weeks now, and with more bad weather on the way, residents are bracing for even more damage.

But despite heavy rain Monday morning, Abbotsford’s mayor says he’s feeling a lot more optimistic about the situation.

That’s because the water that spilled over from the Nooksack is taking much longer to arrive than he expected.

“The bulk of the water that's coming took 19 hours to get here," Mayor Henry Braun said. "So that's actually good news because we were being told to expect it within four or five hours. So what that tells me is there's less volume that came over the Nooksack that is very good for us."

In Monday’s update, Braun said he remains confident that the city has done all that can be done to keep the community safe.

“I’m hopeful that we will make it through the final weather event forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday this week with only minimal impacts,” he said.

“I am pleased to share at this point we are holding our own.”

Braun added that water levels in the flooded portion of the Sumas Prairie remain stable and that he’s confident the dikes will hold.

Aerial footage Monday showed many parts of the Sumas Prairie still under water, in some spots as deep as eight feet.

The heavy rain from the weekend’s atmospheric river caused it to rise about three inches.

The Nooksack continues to pour across the border, and the flowing water could be seen streaming across Vye Road.

In the meantime, on the U.S. side, sirens blared Monday morning to warn people of rising waters.

Crews, with the help of the military, worked all night Sunday to install tiger dams on Highway 1 in the Sumas flats to stop the flow of water.

That stretch between Abbotsford and Chilliwack is closed indefinitely.

Near Sumas Mountain, a mudslide prompted new evacuation orders on Whatcom Road and alerts on Sandringham Drive.

Off the prairie, Clayburn Creek continues to swell from this weekend’s heavy rain.

Residents in Huntingdon Village were also forced out over the weekend.

A wall of sandbags has been built, but hundreds of homes and farms are still exposed.

In total, officials estimate about 1,300 people have been evacuated.

“We're all in this together. We all have different roles to play where there's a bunch of support from our community, we're seeing the different charity organizations coming in play," said Const. Paul Walker, of the Abbotsford Police Department.

"And we'll help people through this process. So my message is hang in there. We're going to get through it."

Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement for the Fraser Valley with another atmospheric river expected to bring up to 100 millimetres of rain through Wednesday.