Running on adrenaline: How Abbotsford's mayor is leading his city through the flooding disaster
Unprecedented flooding plunged Abbotsford into a crisis. And leading the city through that crisis has been the city’s mayor, Henry Braun.
“I don’t even know what day … it is because they all look the same,” said the mayor.
From meetings to media briefings to the barrage of emails and text messages, his days are long.
“I get up at 2 or 3 in the morning and come home at 7 (p.m.) and have something to eat and go to bed,” he said.
He says his wife thinks he’s running on adrenaline.
With an Abbotsford police escort, Braun took a CTV News crew exclusively behind the roadblocks Thursday as he surveyed the flood damage and progress on dike repairs.
“When that dike broke, the farmers that were close to the bridge told me the water rose three feet every hour,” he said as we drove through the eastern part of Sumas Prairie.
On this part of the flats, many fields are still swallowed up by water.
“This water goes all the way to Vedder Mountain,” the mayor said as he surveyed a flooded area off No. 3 Road near Highway 1.
But he’s encouraged that waters have dropped.
“Yesterday, this was under water,” said the mayor, who has lived in the community for 68 years.
Braun said when the flooding began, his first thoughts were with the farmers of Sumas Prairie.
Now, he worries some of them – so overwhelmed by their losses and without insurance – won’t be able to start over.
“There’s one dairy, they lost their entire herd of 150 cows,” the mayor said. “I met some blueberry folks. They know that their plants are dead.”
“There’s anger on one side to heartache and mourning and grieving for the losses that these people have suffered in our prairie.”
Near the Barrowtown Pump Station, the mayor points to a wall of sandbags built by volunteers during the peak of flooding. He credits them with fighting off an even larger disaster.
“If it wasn’t for them … I don’t know what would have happened because we (City of Abbotsford crews) couldn’t get here because it was all under water.”
With rain falling and more significant storms in the forecast, the mayor says the city is as ready as it can be.
“We have some capacity for taking on more water from the rain. I really do believe that we are okay if the Nooksack (River) stays on its side of the border,” he said.
When asked if he was angry that U.S. government didn’t do more to protect the Nooksack River from spilling its banks and pouring water into Sumas Prairie, the mayor said now is not the time for pointing fingers. Still, he believes it’s time for Washington State and the Capitol to step up so this doesn’t happen again.
Continuing across Sumas Prairie, the mayor’s next stop is the section of the dike that had the largest breach. Braun has flown over this area before, but this is his first time surveying it from the ground and he’s pleased at the progress.
“I’m overjoyed with what I see here,” said the mayor.
“I just talked to contractor who tells me they’re six inches away from being at the elevation (that’s needed).”
The mayor is clearly proud of his community for standing together during the flooding, but he said it will take weeks for the waters to subside. And they first have to make it through a series of more storms.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Doctors ask Liberal government to reconsider capital gains tax change
The Canadian Medical Association is asking the federal government to reconsider its proposed changes to capital gains taxation, arguing it will affect doctors' retirement savings.
Keeping these exotic pets is 'cruel' and 'dangerous,' Canadian animal advocates say
Canadian pet owners are finding companionship beyond dogs and cats. Tigers, alligators, scorpions and tarantulas are among some of the exotic pets they are keeping in private homes, which pose risks to public safety and animal welfare, advocates say.
Prince William and wife Kate thank public for birthday messages for son Louis
Prince William and his wife Kate thanked the public for their messages which had been sent to mark the sixth birthday of their youngest son Louis on Tuesday.
She was the closest she'd ever been to meeting her biological father. Then life dealt her a blow
Anne Marie Cavner was the closest she'd ever been to meeting her biological father, but then life dealt her a blow. From an unexpected loss to a host of new relationships, a DNA test changed her life, and she doesn't regret a thing.
How quietly promised law changes in the 2024 federal budget could impact your day-to-day life
The 2024 federal budget released last week includes numerous big spending promises that have garnered headlines. But, tucked into the 416-page document are also series of smaller items, such as promising to amend the law regarding infant formula and to force banks to label government rebates, that you may have missed.
Which foods have the most plastics? You may be surprised
'How much plastic will you have for dinner, sir? And you, ma'am?' While that may seem like a line from a satirical skit on Saturday Night Live, research is showing it's much too close to reality.
'Catch-and-kill' strategy to be a focus as testimony resumes in Trump hush money case
A veteran tabloid publisher was expected to return to the witness stand Tuesday in Donald Trump's historic hush money trial.
Quebec farmers have been protesting since December. Is anyone listening?
Upset about high interest rates, growing paperwork and heavy regulatory burdens, protesting farmers have become a familiar sight across Quebec since December.
South Korean sentenced to 14 months in jail for killing 76 cats
South Korean man has been sentenced to 14 months in prison for killing 76 cats in one of the country's most gruesome cases of animal cruelty in recent years.