'This is the new normal for us right now': Abbotsford residents prepare for more flooding Sunday
They’ve barely had time to catch their breath since flooding devastated Abbotsford’s Sumas Prairie. Now, they’re bracing for the potential of more floodwaters.
“Disaster zone. This is the new normal for us right now,” said dairy farmer Karl Meier.
Meier was one of the farmers picking up sandbags Saturday in the hopes of better protecting his property and animals.
He’s also been lining up transportation so that he can evacuate his livestock if he needs to.
Abbotsford’s Darien Paul says residents are now “back in protection mode, where they’re going to protect their homes.”
He’s been organizing volunteers to fill sandbags since flooding began.
“We’ve reached over 200,000 bags,” he said, adding they expected to fill tens of thousands more Saturday.
Some of those sandbags went to the Huntingdon area, which borders Sumas Prairie.
Officials fear this area could see flooding Sunday if the Nooksack River in Washington State again spills its banks. Residents are on evacuation alert, but Abbotsford Mayor Henry Braun has warned them to be ready to leave at a moment’s notice.
“Residents still need to be prepared to leave immediately as we may only receive limited notice due to changing conditions,” he said.
Trying to protect Huntingdon Village are about 180 soldiers, who spent the day building a sandbag wall next to a railway track.
“What we’re doing today is creating a 500-metre-long sandbag wall, roughly one metre high,” said Maj. Varun Vahal, the officer commanding Vanguard Company soldiers.
“There’s a potential water might go a foot above this rail line that I’m standing on right now, which would then go into this community,” he explained. “The idea is to divert this water away from the village.”
He expected they would need about 35,000 sandbags to complete the task.
Volunteers have been working alongside farmers since the flooding began. On Saturday, members of Abbotsford’s rugby club were cleaning out barns and debris from properties.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
An El Nino-less summer is coming. Here's what that could mean for Canada
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
Stamp prices rise for the third time in five years amid financial woes for Canada Post
Canada Post is increasing stamp prices for the third time since 2019, a move the Crown corporation says is a "reality" of its sales-based revenue structure.
NDP calls out Conservatives for effort to squash pharmacare legislation
The federal New Democrats are calling out Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and his party for trying to block the bill that could pave the way for millions of Canadians to access birth control and diabetes coverage.
Winnipeg man admits to killing four women, argues he's not criminally responsible
Defence lawyers of Jeremy Skibicki have admitted in court the accused killed four Indigenous women, but argues he is not criminally responsible for the deaths by way of mental disorder – this latest development has triggered a judge-alone trial rather than a jury trial.
Mediterranean staple may lower your risk of death from dementia, study finds
A daily spoonful of olive oil could lower your risk of dying from dementia, according to a new study by Harvard scientists.
Ontario MPP asked again to leave Ontario legislature over keffiyeh, Speaker loosens ban
An Ontario MPP was asked again to leave the Ontario legislature on Monday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that was banned by the Speaker last month due to its political symbolism.
WATCH Avian flu: Risk to humans grows as outbreaks spread, warns expert
H5N1 or avian flu is decimating wildlife around the world and is now spreading among cattle in the United States, sparking concerns about 'pandemic potential' for humans. Now a health expert is urging Canada to scale up surveillance north of the border.
Trudeau Liberals to unveil new bill Monday aimed at countering foreign interference
Democratic Institutions Minister Dominic LeBlanc will be tabling legislation on Monday aimed at countering foreign interference in Canada. Federal officials have scheduled a technical briefing on the incoming bill for Monday afternoon.
Human remains were found at a former Hitler base, but decay prevents determining the cause of death
Polish prosecutors have discontinued an investigation into human skeletons found at a site where German dictator Adolf Hitler and other Nazi leaders spent time during the Second World War because the advanced state of decay made it impossible to determine the cause of death, a spokesman said Monday.