Abbotsford Sumas Prairie Evacuations: Resources & Ways to Help

Following the Atmospheric River which brought torrential rains with subsequent mudslides and floods that have cut the Lower Mainland off from the rest of Canada by road and rail, there is a potentially catastrophic situation playing out in Abbotsford tonight.

7:30pm Tuesday, November 16, 2021:
The City of Abbotsford issued an immediate and urgent notice to all residents that did not evacuate the Sumas Prairie earlier today to evacuate immediately.

Abbotsford Sumas Prairie Evacuations

Here’s what we know:

• The City of Abbotsford issued an immediate and urgent notice to all residents that did not evacuate the Sumas Prairie earlier today to evacuate immediately. Read the statement here.
• Anyone who cannot safely leave immediately should call 9-1-1.
• An evacuation order has been in place since the morning, with many of the area’s 3,000 residents leaving, however a few hundred remained behind to try to save livestock.
  • Fraser Valley farmers supply 50 per cent of all BC’s eggs, chickens and dairy products. There are 45,000 dairy cows in the valley, and each chicken farm has around 25,000 birds [Source: The Province]

• Mayor Braun held a press conference at 9:00pm, Tuesday, November 16, 2021:

• The Fraser Valley Current has a great, ongoing article about the situation here:
  • The Barrowtown Pump Station is expected to fail in the next seven hours. Barrowtown is used to pump water out of the basin of what used to be Sumas Lake, the bed of which sits at about sea level. Its failure will start to let water into the basin from the Fraser River, the city says. That will dramatically increase the rate at which water enters the basin.

• The City of Abbotsford has hosted another press conference at 7:30am on Wednesday, November 17th:

More Links & Resources

• The City of Chilliwack also has an Evacuation Order in place for Yarrow, read the alert here.
• Find more City of Abbotsford resources, including information for evacuees, on this city website.
• BC Emergency Map
• Red Cross Financial Assistance
• BC Evacuation Registration
• Follow Drive BC for road conditions and events
• Follow Emergency Info BC for current flooding information

Ways to Support

• GoFundMe: Save the Pet Sanctuary
• GoFundMe: Full List of BC Flood Fundraisers
• Red Cross Canada

More than 1,200 people were still trapped in Hope on Tuesday after all roads out of town were washed out by unprecedented rainfall and mudslides in recent days.

I don’t have much more to add tonight as I am not on the ground and am observing from social media so please follow these official links for the most accurate information.