Abbotsford floodwaters receding as B.C. braces for more rain on way

ABBOTSFORD — Floodwaters have started to recede in parts of Abbotsford, B.C., but more rain is in store for the flood-drenched Fraser Valley, where hundreds of properties have been evacuated.

Overflow from the Nooksack River in Washington state that poured north into the valley had been expected to peak today, and residents are waiting to see the full severity of the inundation.

But Environment Canada says in a special weather statement this morning that more rain will hit the region this weekend and into next week.

It says there will be light rain today but it’s expected to intensify tonight, with up to 40 millimetres expected, before another system moves in Saturday night bringing “potentially significant” rain on Monday and beyond.

At First Avenue in Abbotsford, within sight of the border crossing, floodwater had been pouring in on Thursday afternoon, but by this morning had receded, leaving behind clumps of mud.

The extent of infrastructure damage caused by a series of atmospheric rivers that drenched both sides of the border this week is meanwhile becoming clearer, with the Transport Ministry saying Highway 3 connecting Hope to Alberta has been “severely undermined” and is closed

It says about 23 sites have suffered damage from rockfalls, debris and culvert undermining, while DriveBC says Highway 1 is shut at Abbotsford and east of Highway 9, with the Sumas border crossing also closed by flooding.

David Campbell with the BC River Forecast Centre had said Thursday that water levels on the Nooksack across the border were already receding, but waters flooding north into the Sumas Prairie were expected to keep rising overnight.

The City of Abbotsford, which is under a state of emergency, says residents of more than 450 properties have been told to get out immediately, with more than 1,000 others under evacuation alert.

B.C. Agriculture Minister Lana Popham says more than 160 farms in the Fraser Valley are under evacuation order or alert, although livestock is considered safe.

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