Trans Canada Highway in Abbotsford area Tuesday morning (Photo credit: Drive BC)

By Pete McIntyre

Dynamic situation

Another B.C. community under water, Coquihalla repairs could take months

Nov 16, 2021 | 11:45 AM

A day after residents in Merritt were order to leave, high water levels are impacting another B.C. community.

About 1,100 homes in Abbotsford were issued evacuation orders this morning in the Fraser Valley community due to floodwaters coming north from the U.S.

Photos show the Trans Canada Highway in the Abbotsford area covered in water.

Meantime, public safety minister Mike Farnworth, who called the roads and weather a “dynamic situation” on Monday, will update the emergency at a news conference at 3:30 this afternoon.

Damage to section of Coquihalla Highway north of Hope. (Submitted photo: Twitter/Colton Davies)

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The minister told Global News, there has been significant damage to sections of the Coquihalla Highway, and while assessments are underway, the repairs could take “several weeks or months.”

While the close to 300 people stranded by slides on Highway 7 near Agassiz on Monday have all been rescued, the search continues on stretches of Highways 7 and 99 for any vehicles with unconfirmed reports that two vehicles may have been swept away by mudslides on Sunday.

#BCStorm update: Crews completed an aerial inspection this morning of our power lines along Highway 1 just east of Sumas in #Abbotsford affected by flooding. We’re continuing to post the latest outage updates here: https://t.co/nxhBxNPfKJ pic.twitter.com/VPxjGXDZqi

— BC Hydro (@bchydro) November 16, 2021

CN and CP Rail are reporting that slides have wiped out stretches of track in B.C., stopping the movement of goods to and from Canada’s largest port in Vancouver.

CP Rail says a track outage north of Hope is affecting rail service in the region, while CN says there are mudslides and washouts near Yale and a partial derailment on CP-owned tracks.

Just as global supply chain issues are causing shortages, the Vancouver Fraser Port authority says no rail traffic is running from Kamloops to Vancouver.

The NDP’s federal critic for Emergency Preparedness, South Okanagan-West Kootenay M-P Richard Cannings, is calling on the federal government to invest in improved infrastructure to help prevent catastrophic natural disasters like the flooding and landslides in B.C.

Cannings said his thoughts are with all British Columbians affected by the floods.

“New Democrats will push the federal government to ensure there is adequate funding assistance coming to help people and their communities recover,” said Cannings. “But we also need the government to be more proactive on emergency preparedness. In just three months, B.C. residents have had to endure record-high heat waves, extreme wildfires, torrential rains and flooding which have cost people their lives and devastated parts of the province. This is the direct result of the climate crisis and, without immediate action, it will only get worse in the future.”

The New Democrats are calling for more preventative action including fully funding the FireSmart program, increased floodplain mapping and updating important infrastructure along the province’s roads.

(With files from The Canadian Press)