B.C. evacuation orders, alerts expand as floods cut off most links to Lower Mainland

ABBOTSFORD — Evacuation orders and alerts in southern British Columbia expanded overnight, as floodwaters and landslides cut off most major routes between the Lower Mainland and the Interior.

Highway closures have been widened to include Highway 11 in both directions, shutting the Sumas border crossing, while the Coquihalla, and highways 1, 3 and 5 were also severed.

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The B.C. Ministry of Transportation’s DriveBC information system shows, however, that crews were able to reopen Highway 99 between Pemberton and Lillooet Thursday morning, after the road closed Wednesday night due to heavy rain.

The threat of major flooding caused by the swollen Nooksack River, which broke its banks in Washington state on Wednesday, saw the City of Abbotsford order residents of 371 properties on the Sumas Prairie to evacuate overnight, while more than 600 remain under an evacuation alert.

Local states of emergency have also been declared in Abbotsford and the Fraser Valley Regional District, while the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen told residents of Tulameen to be prepared to evacuate early Thursday.

The town of Princeton, 26 kilometres southeast of Tulameen, has also issued an evacuation alert for much of its waterfront on the Similkameen and Tulameen rivers.

The B.C. River Forecast Centre has upgraded the situation on the Tulameen River to a flood warning, while the tributaries to the Similkameen have also been included in the new flood warnings.

South of the border, Washington state has issued a state of emergency, with some counties reporting up to 15 centimetres of rain within a 24-hour period and triggering the deployment of the National Guard.

Amtrak trains between Seattle and Vancouver have also been suspended.

A series of atmospheric rivers have washed over the Pacific coast on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border, recalling the severe flooding of 2021 that saw waters from the Nooksack River inundate the Sumas Prairie, while washing out major highways into and out of the B.C. Interior that caused billions in damage.

Connie Chapman, executive director of the provincial Water Management Branch, says outflows from the Nooksack rival those of four years ago and were expected to peak today.

Environment Canada says the rains peaked in the Fraser valley, where 140 millimetres were recorded in Hope and 110 millimetres in Chilliwack up to 4 a.m.

— With files from The Associated Press

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec, 11, 2025.