Expected pump station failure in Abbotsford, B.C., prompts urgent warning to residents under evacuation orders
Abbotsford officials are sharing an update Wednesday morning on the flooding situation in Abbotsford. Follow Wednesday's developing coverage here.
Officials in Abbotsford, B.C., have issued an urgent warning to residents under an evacuation order in the Sumas Prairie that "catastrophic" flooding is expected in the area.
The city sounded the alarm Tuesday night that the Barrowtown Pump Station is at risk of being overwhelmed, which would see even more water flow into the already flooded Sumas Prairie.
"You need to leave immediately," Abbotsford Mayor Henry Braun urged residents at an emergency news conference at 9 p.m. "If you can't leave, please call 911 for support."
Water is also flowing down from Sumas Mountain, exacerbating an already challenging situation, according to officials.
First responders believe there are about 300 people who remain in the evacuated area, spread over a couple hundred different properties.
That includes an unconfirmed number who require water rescue due to previous flooding from the intense storm that bombarded the province on Sunday and Monday.
The city described the Barrowtown Pump Station as a "critical piece of infrastructure" preventing Sumas Lake from reforming, and said the failure of even one of its four pumps would result in quickly rising water levels in the Sumas Prairie, which has been under an evacuation order since Tuesday morning.
Braun said Abbotsford's engineering team is working hard to keep the pump station operational, but that there's no telling how long they will be able to sustain it.
"If there is an overflow into the pump station – that water level is now about a metre below – this situation will become critical very quickly," the mayor said. "Even at four pumps running full bore, that water has continued to rise."
Residents have been told to abandon any efforts to save livestock and get out while they're able. The mayor said evacuees would be "incredibly surprised" at how rapidly the situation would worsen following a pump station failure.
"There's nowhere for that water to go," Braun said. "I know it's hard for farmers to leave their livestock, but people's lives are more important to me right now than livestock and chickens."
Firefighters said they are also working with staff from neighbouring Chilliwack to construct a sandbag wall around the pump station that would buy some time in the event of a pump failure. They're also trying to bring in additional pumps, as well as more helicopters to help carry people to safety.
Abbotsford Police Chief Mike Serr said a co-ordinated rescue effort is underway, but that the situation is "changing literally by the minute."
"We've reached out to provincial, federal resources to support us. We have search and rescue resources coming in from across the Lower Mainland to help," Serr said. "We're getting to all the people as fast as we can to support them and to support their families."
Abbotsford remains under a local state of emergency issued Monday, and B.C.'s Ministry of Transportation has advised the public to avoid travelling to the city and its surrounding areas due to extensive flood damage to roadways.
Prior to Tuesday night, residents were already working together to help stranded families evacuate. Authorities said some had used power boats to haul cows to dry ground.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Ottawa injects another $36M into vaccine injury compensation fund
The federal government has added $36.4 million to a program designed to support people who have been seriously injured or killed by vaccines since the end of 2020.
'Secret report' or standard research? B.C. government addresses safe supply allegations
B.C.’s premier and one of his top lieutenants are pushing back against allegations by the Official Opposition that he covertly commissioned a report into the diversion of safe supply drugs onto the streets.
Video shows suspects waving weapons, smashing glass in Toronto jewelry store robbery
Arrests have been made after five men were captured on video rampaging through a jewelry store in Toronto, waving weapons and smashing glass display cases.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
She was too sick for a traditional transplant. So she received a pig kidney and a heart pump
Doctors have transplanted a pig kidney into a New Jersey woman who was near death, part of a dramatic pair of surgeries that also stabilized her failing heart.
What Canadians think of the latest Liberal budget
A new poll suggests the Liberals have not won over voters with their latest budget, though there is broad support for their plan to build millions of homes.
opinion Why you should protect your investments by naming a trusted contact person
Appointing a trusted person to help with financial obligations can give you peace of mind. In his personal finance column for CTVNews.ca, Christopher Liew outlines the key benefits of naming a confidant to take over your financial responsibilities, if the need ever arises.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Teacher shortages see some Ontario high school students awarded perfect grades on midterm exams
Students at a high school in York Region have been awarded perfect marks on their midterm exams in three subjects – not because of their academic performances however, but because they had no teacher.