'Avoid all travel to Abbotsford': Extensive flooding in Fraser Valley, transportation ministry warns

Update: The City of Abbotsford has issued an urgent warning to residents under evacuation orders in Sumas Prairie that a pump station is at risk of failure, which would result in even more flooding in the area. Anyone who remains in Sumas Prairie has been told to leave immediately, or call 911 if they are trapped.

VANCOUVER -- With Abbotsford still under a state of emergency and extensive flooding causing damage to roadways, B.C.'s transportation ministry is asking locals to avoid travel to the city and its surrounding areas.

In a message posted to Twitter, Drive BC, which is operated by the transportation ministry, urged people to stay away.

"Emergency crews dealing with extensive flooding and any additional traffic volume will hamper their efforts," the notice said.

"Highways are closed until further notice."

Abbotsford issued a local state of emergency Monday due to "several localized emergencies" because of the flooding. The city's mayor said the alert will stay in place for seven days, unless it's called off earlier.

"Declaring a state of local emergency allows the City of Abbotsford to provide enhanced support to manage the emergency," the city's notice said.

"This is essential in order to help protect the health, safety and welfare of people in Abbotsford and their property."

A number of properties in the Straiton and Sumas Prairie areas were placed under evacuation order Monday and Tuesday. The Sumas Prairie's evacuation order area was expanded Tuesday morning because of a localized landslide. A full list of properties ordered to leave can be seen on the city's website.

Residents in the evacuation zones are being ordered to leave their homes immediately if possible or seek higher ground if they’re trapped.

Those who live in the Clayburn, Eagle Mountain, Ten Oaks and Matsqui Village neighbourhoods are also being told to be ready to leave at a moment's notice.

Officials estimate about 1,100 people have been forced from their homes so far.

'URGENT NOTICE' TO PEOPLE IN EVACUATED AREAS

On Tuesday night, the City of Abbotsford issued an “immediate and urgent notice” to all residents who did not evacuate Sumas Prairie earlier in the day to “evacuate immediately.”

Among those who left earlier was Jennifer Zanardo and her 89-year-old dad Egidio.

“In about two hours, we went from water coming in the house to water surrounding everything. Within minutes, everything just went up and floating away,” said Jennifer.

She explained that the situation has left her feeling “absolutely numb and speechless."

"I don’t think the emotions have actually hit us yet," she added.

Her father Egidio has lived on the prairie his whole life and said he’s never seen the floodwaters this bad.

“It come up a lot faster than it did last time,” he told CTV News. “It’s like a big lake.”

Jennifer said they are concerned for neighbouring farmers and their poultry and livestock. She’s also concerned about what it will look like to go back home again.

She said an already difficult time for her family has been made much worse and she is devastated.

“My mom’s in the hospital. My dad’s not well and we don’t need it. It’s a real tough time,” she said.

RESCUES ONGOING FOR TRAPPED RESIDENTS

On Monday night, motorists trapped in their vehicles were rescued by search and rescue crews on boats. Officials said rescues of those trapped on Sumas Prairie continued through Tuesday.

“We had one member who had thrown on a life jacket and he would swim out, wade out to a car overturned to bring someone back,” said Abbotsford Police Chief Mike Serr. “And that was just almost happening on a regular basis for about two hours."

First responders said Tuesday morning that the Sumas Prairie area is the top priority with floodwaters rising rapidly.

“The floodwaters that were starting to migrate their way into the east side of the Sumas Prairie, that's all water that's come north from the Nooksack River so, spilled over the the Canada-U.S. border,” explained Fire Chief Darren Lee.

The mayor said he’s never seen this level of destruction in his decades of living in the city.

“Breaks my heart to see what's going on in our city. But we can only deal with what we know and that's what we're doing. And we've got a great team, our ops team. I'm really proud of how they are tackling what is historic for a Sumas Prairie event,” said a visibly emotional Mayor Henry Braun.

Braun said the farming community as coming together to help one another out on Sumas Prairie.

There are people with power boats hauling cows out of their barns to highway one to dry ground,” he explained.

Two evacuation centres have been set up in the region. The reception centre in Abbotsford has been moved from the Abbotsford Recreation Centre to Tradex, by the airport.

“I started Googling and watching for the news. And then I realized there was no easy way out at this point. But fortunately, these people are very nice. We've been lucky, warm, fed, and safe,” said Sanela Bacic, a stranded Chilliwack resident.

She got stuck in Abbotsford on her way home from work in Vancouver Monday night.

“The flooding and mudslides have left a number of people displaced. Family and friends are pitching in to help and more than 80 families have checked into our reception center,” said Mayor Braun.

A second centre has been set up at Chilliwack Secondary for those stranded due to the Highway One closure.

The City of Chilliwack has also issued an evacuation alert for the community of Yarrow.

HIGHWAY 1 CLOSURE

Highway 1 was shut down Monday night between Sumas and No. 3 Road due to severe flooding.

Officials said Tuesday morning that it would be closed for a significant amount of time as flooding in the area is severe.

An estimated 5,000 cars were abandoned as water and debris blocked the highway.

“I was out there last night, you could not see where the side of the road was. People were going off the side roadway... cars flipped over,” said Abbotsford Police Chief Mike Serr.

First responders are fully tapped with all available staff deployed.

“One member had to throw on the lifejacket and swim or wade out towards a car that was overturned, to bring someone back. That was just almost on a regular basis for about two hours there to have cars that have flipped over, people on the roofs of cars that we could not access,” said Serr.

Police are warning people to obey all road closures so they can focus all their resources on unpreventable emergencies.