[xerxes]

Well it’s been raining hard again today here in Abby. 100mm as of a few hours ago. A number of homes have been evacuated near the Sumas border crossing in respond to the Nooksack river overtopping it’s banks again, though not as severely as two weeks ago.

Highway 1 is closed again due to flooding fears and the floodgates at the pumping station have closed because the water level of the Fraser is too high.

We’re not out of the woods yet but at least we’re getting a day’s reprive before the next big rainstorm on Tuesday.

[Strutz]

Tuesday's storm is forecasted to be a nasty one.

[xerxes]

It is. And the city is now building a tiger dam across the highway in an attempt to forestall any new flooding.

Edit: pics of the dam.

[Scape]

[Scape]

[Scape]

[herbie]

One good thing, so far this year the relatives in Abbotsford haven't gloated about 'not having to shovel it'....

[Scape]

BC was warned about flood preparedness flaws over a decade ago: CCPA

Just as the 5th estate showed reports were requested and ignored. This is a systemic failure not a partisan one.

[DrCaleb]

Definitely not partisan, because all the parties did nothing.

[housewife]

How is everyone doing with this latest storm?

[xerxes]

Good. The various river in and around here (Nooksack, Sumas, Chilliwack, and Alouette) are all running high and fast, but are t spilling over their banks and causing new flooding. That’s the good news.

However, there’s still a lot of water to drain out and it’ll be a while before all the water is gone from the Sumas Prairie. Also, there are still number of highway closures making things difficult. There’s still that temporary dam that’s closed off highway 1 between Abbotsford and Chilliwack. Which has left the #7 as the main highway out of the lower mainland and has been open only intermittently due to mudslides and accidents. Moreover, the speed limits are reduced due to the uncertainty how how stable the saturated ground is under the road ways.

To sum up. The worst of the storm and flooding has passed but there’s still much to be done. There’s a lot of damaged infrastructure that needs to be replaced/repaired and a lot of economic damage that will take years to recover from. For example, a lot of blueberry fields got flooded out and it can upwards of seven years for a blueberry bush to mature. And while there weren’t too many losses in the dairy sector (around 500 cows lost. Still terrible, but not the catastrophe that was initially feared), a lot of poultry was lost.

[DrCaleb]

[housewife]

Xerxes glad to hear that! My sister is on high ground in the GVA so their doing ok. The news reports look really bad and getting worse!

[xerxes]

The tiger dam is gone and Highway 1 is open again from Abbotsford all the way to Hope.

[xerxes]

Livestock death toll from B.C. flooding: 628,000 poultry, 12,000 hogs, 420 cows

$1:

With recovery efforts underway in flood-stricken parts of British Columbia, officials are getting an idea of the massive impact the extreme weather has had on the province's livestock.

In an update Thursday, Agriculture Minister Lana Popham said more than 640,000 animals are known to have died.

That total includes 628,000 poultry, 12,000 hogs and 420 dairy cows. Additionally, 110 beehives were destroyed.

There are still more than 800 farms under evacuation, so officials believe the death toll will likely change as residents and operators return.

Popham said solemnly that the weather is expected to be better over the next few days, which will be "critical for removal of carcasses."

"The work by farmers and volunteers and companies to clean out barns and to remove those animals continues to be extremely heartbreaking. I request that folks remain empathetic and caring in their comments, as they continue to do this very difficult work," she said.

Popham did not provide details on her motive for making such a statement, but it may have been a reference to comments posted on social media suggesting those who look after these animals didn't care for their wellbeing anyway, as they'd raised them for consumption.

The minister said that the farmers she's been in contact with are showing resilience, and she said they're experiencing what she described as "a good problem to have." They're having to find several centres for the public to drop off feed and supplies.

"The generosity of people is exceptional," she said.

Popham said she's also working with the B.C. Agriculture Council to ensure farmers are supported, and she's met with her federal counterpart, Marie-Claude Bibeau, to discuss a recovery package from Ottawa.

"We're still in the process of quantifying losses, whether it be animal crops or plant crops, and we hope to firm up those numbers as the waters recede," Popham said.

The waters reached depths of 2.4 metres in places, including on properties owned by blueberry producers, and some plants are still under water.

There are about 700 acres of blueberries planted in the Sumas Prairie, part of which is located in Abbotsford, and as with other crops, the full extent of the damage is not yet known.

https://bc.ctvnews.ca/livestock-death-toll-from-b-c-flooding-628-000-poultry-12-000-hogs-420-cows-1.5691405