Concern over incoming wintry weather as B.C. begins rebuild from devastating floods | CBC News

THE LATEST:

• B.C. Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth says the province is now “on the other end” of a series of powerful storms that led to extensive floods and mudslides.

• Some highways reopened as flood waters began to recede, including the Trans Canada Highway running from Abbotsford to Chilliwack. Numerous other highways, however, remain under travel advisory. For a full list of closures, see here.

• As the rebuilding process continues for most of the province, incoming low temperatures heading into the weekend, including forecasted snow, threaten to complicate recovery efforts.

• Evacuation orders remain in effect for properties near waterways in the Fraser Valley, the Thompson-Nicola Regional District and the Sea to Sky region. For more on evacuation alerts and orders, see here.

• Flood warnings have remained in place for the Coldwater and Nicola rivers even as other flood warnings have been downgraded. For all flood advisories, see here.

After a string of intense storms subsided, a long and potentially arduous rebuilding process will begin for communities throughout southern British Columbia affected by floods and mudslides.

The third storm in little under a week passed Thursday, capping a series that made this November the wettest on record in many B.C. communities.

B.C. Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said the worst weather conditions were “behind” the province.

Recovery work will involve repairing vital transportation routes, restoring agricultural operations deluged by high water, and getting thousands of evacuated people back to their homes, Farnworth said.

Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair said the federal government was working very closely with local governments to help those affected by the floods.

“I think there’s a strong shared commitment to do what is necessary to help the people who have been impacted by these floods as quickly as possible,” he said.

However, low temperatures and snow may complicate recovery efforts heading into the weekend. Environment Canada issued a special weather statement warning of wet snow in many areas of southwest B.C., including the flood-battered Fraser Valley.

In the community of Princeton in the province’s Interior, Mayor Spencer Coyne said freezing temperatures would bring a lot of challenges to the city’s cleanup effort. Many residents were forced to evacuate their homes with more than half the town underwater in mid-November.

“We’ve still got a lot of mud and debris to clean up, that’s going to freeze. We’re supposed to be getting snow this weekend, so that’ll cover up a lot of [debris],” he said. 

“There’s myriad issues that we’re going to have to deal with.”

Highways in and around the city remain constrained. Flooding east of Princeton forced a closure between Taylor Way and Old Hedley Road on Highway 3. There is no detour for commercial vehicles, but light vehicles may navigate around the closure using Old Hedley Road. 

Elsewhere in the Interior, flood warnings have been maintained around the badly hit community of Merritt. It’s the only area of the province still under a flood warning.

The city is planning to allow residents back in to see their homes by the weekend pending water tests.

A flood watch means river levels are rising and may exceed their banks and flood adjacent areas. A flood warning means river levels have exceeded or will exceed their banks, and nearby areas will flood as a result.

Schools reopening

Some schools in the Nicola-Similkameen School District, which includes Princeton and Merritt, are reopening.

In Merritt, as of Friday, the district has re-opened Merritt Bench Elementary and Nicola Canford Elementary.

The Community Learning Centre opened Thursday and the district plans to reopen École Élémentaire Collettville next week.

Merritt Central Elementary, Diamond Vale Elementary and Merritt Secondary all sustained damage in the flooding and are closed indefinitely. Some students will use classroom space at the Nicola Valley Institute of Technology, while others will study online.

In Princeton, staff and teachers are preparing Vermilion Forks Elementary for reopening on Monday. It is the only school in the community that can be accessed safely for the time being. In-person learning will take place at the school for K-12 students on a rotating basis.

Hwy 1 through Fraser Valley reopened

Though many highways remain closed and under travel advisory in the province, Highway 1 through the Fraser Valley reopened on Thursday. The installation of a Tiger Dam — a series of water-filled tubes over a metre in height that are used to create a barrier — earlier in the week stopped floodwaters from reaching the road.

The highway is crucial to connecting Metro Vancouver to the rest of the province, and will allow supplies to start flowing into the Valley, where communities like Abbotsford have been hit badly by flooding.

Abbotsford Mayor Henry Braun said those evacuated from the city, many of whom are farmers, will not be able to return until flood waters are fully pumped out, which might take two to three weeks.

A number of other highways in the province remain closed due to damage from storms in November. 

Highway 99, north of Vancouver, remains closed due to a mudslide between Pemberton and Lillooet. The stretch earlier saw a mudslide that left four people dead and one missing during the mid-November storm.

Much of the Fraser Canyon route along Highway 1 remains closed due to slide damage. Highway 8 between Spences Bridge and Merritt was heavily damaged, and remains closed indefinitely.

Impact on animals ‘heartbreaking’

B.C. Agriculture Minister Lana Popham said at a Thursday news conference she has been visiting farms in the Fraser Valley where people are dealing with dead animals and drowned crops.

She said there are currently 819 farms under evacuation orders.

Popham said the death toll among animals is “heartbreaking” and includes 628,000 chickens, 420 dairy cows, 12,000 hogs and 110 beehives.

She also said the province’s food supply situation was stable, with some delays due to supply chain issues, and urged residents to be patient.