Abbotsford floodwaters recede but more rain in store for B.C.’s Fraser Valley

Floodwaters have overwhelmed Highway 1 in Abbotsford, plunging the community into the kind of chaos they know all too well.

ABBOTSFORD — The City of Abbotsford says floodwaters are receding with some areas seeing “significant improvement,” but Highway 1 is still closed and it’s warning drivers against trying to get around flooded areas.

The city says in a statement that water continues to flow across the border from the Nooksack River in Washington state.

The statement says side roads are still flooded and advises drivers that they’ll get stuck trying to back out, noting that online maps are showing inaccurate information about certain side routes being open.

It says the highway remains closed and there is “currently no way through” Abbotsford and Chilliwack to get to the eastern parts of B.C.

The city says an evacuation order is still in place for 460 properties, with more than 1,000 on alert in the Sumas Prairie.

It says work is also underway to get evacuated residents back home “as quickly as possible.”

The City of Chilliwack says wet weather forecasted to begin Sunday by Environment Canada will swell local rivers, which may cause localized flooding, but flows are expected to be less severe than those earlier in the week.

The floodwaters that poured into Abbotsford this week are receding, but Environment Canada warns more rain is in store for the already saturated Fraser Valley.

It says while rainfall is expected to taper throughout the day, another system will move into the area tonight.

The weather office says that will be followed by a “potentially significant push of moisture” Monday and into early next week.

It is also warning of an increased risk of landslides, as rainfall may destabilize slopes.

Waters from the Nooksack River in Washington state, which overflowed Wednesday, continued to flow across the border Friday, but the City of Abbotsford says the waters have peaked and are gradually dropping.

The city says floodgates are open at the Barrowtown pump station, sending floodwaters out of the Sumas River and into the Fraser River.

Emergency Management Minister Kelly Greene has said about 450 properties in B.C. have been evacuated, the majority of them in Abbotsford, with 1,700 under evacuation alert.

The flooding that has filled fields and closed Highway 1 and the Sumas border crossing is reminiscent of floods in 2021 that were also caused by overflows from the Nooksack River.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 13, 2025.