B.C. business owners suing several levels of government over last month's floods

Flooding in Sumas Prairie is seen on Nov. 29, 2021, as farmers grapple with more water flowing in from Washington state.

A pair of business owners in B.C.'s Sumas Prairie are attempting to sue the provincial government, the Fraser Valley Regional District and the City of Abbotsford over last month’s devastating floods.

In a class action lawsuit filed in an Abbotsford court on Thursday, Caroline Mostertman and Ted Dykman allege that the city, regional district and province failed to warn residents in the area about the risk of flooding in a timely manner.

Several B.C. communities suffered flooding on Nov. 14 as an atmospheric river delivered a month's worth of rain over just two days.

Days later, on Nov. 16, the Sumas Dike gave way in two places, causing floodwaters to flow onto a number of Abbotsford farming properties.

Sumas Prairie residents "had not been adequately notified of the impending disaster," the lawsuit alleges. "(They) watched helplessly as ravenous floodwaters tore through their land, burying their personal property and destroying their crops and farmland."

Sumas Prairie is a 90-square-kilometre, low-lying agricultural area in Abbotsford's southeast, and about two-thirds of it is the former Sumas Lake.

Currently, the Sumas River flows north from the U.S. border toward the Fraser River, and dikes along its banks prevent it from refilling and reforming the lake.

The lawsuit goes on to allege that government officials failed to implement emergency measures and warnings when it came to the flooding, and that additional measures could have been taken to reinforce the dike.

“Residents whose property was shielded by the Sumas Dike could have moved their equipment, inventory, chattels and other moveables out of the Sumas Prairie or to higher ground,” the lawsuit reads.

More than 600,000 animals are said to have died in the flood and infrastructure repairs from the flooding in Abbotsford are said to total over $1 billion.

Through the lawsuit, the pair is hoping to hold the city, province and district accountable for their actions during the flooding and recover their losses.

The lawsuit is also being brought forward on behalf of all those who own or had interest in property in the Sumas Prairie in or outside the area guarded by the dike at the time of the floods.

So far, none of the allegations have been proven in court.