Abbotsford mayor blasts feds for flooding ‘inaction’ as water starts receding

ABBOTSFORD — The mayor of flood-struck Abbotsford, B.C., says he is “disappointed and frustrated” with the federal government over “inaction” on cross-border flooding that has repeatedly inundated his city.

Ross Siemens says he has not been contacted by the federal government about this week’s flooding that has forced hundreds of households to evacuate, while inundating poultry barns and forcing livestock relocations.

Siemens told a news briefing that he’s pleading for flood mitigation to be addressed, and authorities across the border in Washington state also need to “wake up” and for the issue to part of an international treaty.

David Campbell with the B.C. River Forecast Centre says floodwaters that poured across the border from the flooded Nooksack River in Washington have started to recede.

But he says the process of draining the Sumas Prairie will take days, and more rain is on the way for the Fraser Valley.

B.C. Agriculture Minister Lana Popham says a “couple of poultry barns” have been lost and flocks in other barns were being relocated, as was stock on some hog farms.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 12, 2025.