The City of Abbotsford braced for more flooding Sunday, as the Nooksack River in Washington state began to overtop its banks.
Abbotsford Mayor Henry Braun said officials in Whatcom County advised him shortly before 2 p.m. that the river had begun to flood.
“We expect that flow to reach Abbotsford later today,” Braun said.
“There’s some pooling that’s taking place between the Nooksack River and Emmerson Road (in Washington). Once that area, which is a significant area, is filled, it’s going to go over Main Street, then it’s headed here, there’s nothing to stop it after that.”
Adding to the concern, the city confirmed Sunday that it was forced to close the floodgates at the Barrowtown pump station, which could put additional pressure on the already stressed Sumas dike.
The floodgates had been draining water from the swollen Sumas River into the Fraser River.
“This is due to the Fraser River and Vedder Canal rising, on the other side of the gates,” a spokesperson for the city’s Emergency Operations Centre said.
“The gates will remain closed until those water levels are below the Sumas River levels.”
The Ministry of Transportation has also warned drivers that Highway 1 near Whatcom and Yale roads through Abbotsford could close “at any time.”
Early Sunday morning, the city issued an evacuation order for 90 properties in the Huntingdon Village area along the U.S. border, as localized flooding from rainfall and snowmelt moved north.
The Canadian Armed Forces has sandbagged around the village to protect homes, but Braun said that effort will do nothing keep flood waters from the Nooksack out of the rest of Abbotsford.
Braun said the around-the-clock efforts of contractors and the military to repair and buttress dikes protecting the already flooded Sumas Prairie lowlands had positioned the city well, but that many unknowns remained.
“We are in better shape than we were with the Sumas dike before the first event,” he said.
“We are ready, as ready as we can be. What we don’t know is was there any damage done to the integrity of the dike that we can’t see.”
All dike repairs were complete, and work to raise the dike by half a metre for several kilometres southwest of the Barrowtown pump station was half done, Braun said.
The pump station itself remained fully operational.
A rainfall warning for Metro Vancouver was rescinded Sunday afternoon, but remained in place for the Fraser Valley.
The ongoing rain storm had delivered about 100 mm of rain to the Abbotsford area, Braun said, raising water levels in the flooded Sumas Prairie by about 7.6 cm.
The Sumas Prairie remained under an evacuation orders, while the city remained under a state of local emergency Sunday.
Localized flooding had also cropped up in the Clayburn area, and the city was closely watching the Arnold area for possible flooding as well.
Clayburn Road between Highway 11 and Wright Street was under about 45 cm of water, and closed as a result, Braun said.
Earlier Sunday, Abbotsford police acknowledged that some residents of Huntingdon village had not evacuated the area as ordered.
“It’s serious. We want them to leave. We can’t force them to leave, but we are advising them to leave,” Const. Paul Walker told Global News.
“At some point if the water does come, and we anticipate it coming, there might be an opportunity where we can’t get to everyone at one time safely. So we want people to leave as soon as possible.”
Evacuee Amang Kang described the situation as extremely stressful.
“It’s very hard. I just recently moved to this neighbourhood,” he said.
“It’s very frightening. I don’t know what to say, I’m kind of speechless. I’ve never had an experience like this before, I never thought it’s going to happen here.”
To the west, Aldergrove Regional Park was also closed Sunday morning due to flooding caused by heavy rain.
The Fraser Valley Regional District issued an evacuation order for two properties along Chilliwack Lake Road in the Chilliwack River Valley due to landslide risk.
In neighboring Chilliwack, city crews worked overnight patrolling dikes and culverts.
Residents were warned that the heavy rains had stressed the city sewer system, and were asked to reduce their non-essential water use until at least Thursday.
The second in a series of atmospheric rivers moved in Saturday bringing steady rainfall that Environment Canada doesn’t expect to let up until the afternoon. However, a third atmospheric river, possibly one of even greater intensity, is forecast to arrive on Tuesday.
The Squamish-Lillooet Regional District has issued an evacuation alert for 18 properties in the Pemberton Meadows area, while the Thompson-Nicola Regional District has done so for another 49 properties outside Merritt and Spences Bridge. Residents there have been advised to pack essential items and be ready to leave at a moment’s notice if conditions worsen.
Dozens of communities remain on flood watch and weather alerts are currently posted across southern B.C.
As a preemptive measure, Highway 1 through the Fraser Canyon, Highway 3 between Hope and Princeton and Highway 99 between Pemberton and Lillooet were closed yesterday amid storm warnings. The Transportation Ministry notes the highways were previously impacted by extreme weather, and it says their reopening will depend on weather conditions.
BC Drive also reported overnight that flooding had forced the closure of a 4.8 kilometre stretch of Highway 7 in Maple Ridge.
In the prime agricultural area of Abbotsford, Mayor Henry Braun said yesterday that while he was confident the city could handle this weekend’s rainfall, it could not handle another overflow of the Nooksack River into Sumas Prairie.
The Nooksack runs south of the border and Braun said American officials have informed him its dikes were damaged in the last flood.
The mayor added that he has spoken with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier John Horgan about the importance of supporting critical diking and drainage infrastructure in the long term.
With files from the Canadian Press
© 2021 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
‘There’s nothing to stop it’: Abbotsford braces for more flooding as Nooksack River tops its banks - Globalnews.ca
Read More
No comments:
Post a Comment