On Tuesday, Dec. 10, the B.C. Government issued a flood watch due to over 100 millimetres of anticipated rainfall in areas of the Fraser Valley, Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Hope, and the Sumas River. The warning urged citizens to stay safe and alert to the signs of flood-related hazards. B.C.’s Fraser Valley also entered a state of emergency on Dec.10, as the Nooksack river was on the verge of overflowing, multiple highway closures occurred due to flooding, and evacuation orders were issued to people in danger zones.
The abnormally high amount of rainfall received by the Fraser Valley affected several of its highways, including highways one, five, seven and eight. Flooding, debris, and landslides surrounding these highways made transport to and from areas like Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Hope and Mission hazardous or impossible. Consequently, public schools such as the University of the Fraser Valley, were closed on Friday, Dec. 12 because transport conditions made it unsafe for students and staff to travel.
A major sector affected by the floods brought upon by the atmospheric river were farmers situated in the Fraser Valley. Their livestock and equipment were affected by the rising water levels, rendering several barns waterlogged. Over 60 farms were placed on evacuation order and almost 100 were advised to be ready to evacuate. However, at least two poultry farms were lost. Not only were farms alerted or ordered to evacuate, but civil structures were as well.
By Friday, Dec. 12, around 1,000 homes and properties in Abbotsford remained under evacuation alert, with almost 500 being ordered to evacuate. These events in some capacity mirrored 2021’s Fraser Valley floods, which devastated the valley and its inhabitants in November of that year.
Water levels began to recede on Saturday, Dec. 13, and evacuation orders were reduced to evacuation alerts with access to the affected areas becoming available with the decrease of the water levels. As a precautionary measure, closures in areas of Highway one and 99 were not lifted until the morning Monday, Dec. 15.
Although not in abnormal levels, rain did not stop falling on the already water saturated Fraser Valley. Despite this, most advisories in Abbotsford were lifted on Tuesday, Dec. 16. It was at this later date when the updated information on the affected farms revealed that six poultry farms had been flooded and the number of livestock lost were estimated to be several thousand birds.
While the events of 2025’s December floods were not as severe as those in November 2021, little progress has been made to help reduce flooding in B.C. since then. The B.C. government’s plan to reduce flood related risks, last updated on July 31, 2024, will require billions in funding from the government whose operation deficit stands at 11.6 billion Canadian dollars. Tara Martin, Applied Conservation Science professor at UBC emphasized the concern for more flooding in the future.
“The chance of another 2021-like flood increases exponentially over the next 60 years.”
