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

While some routes have been reopened, including Highway 1 between Yale and Lytton and Highway 99 to Lillooet, many other routes remain closed or partially closed. 

The Coquihalla Highway, the route severely damaged in the 2021 flood event, is closed in both directions between Hope and Merritt because of flooding. 

Drivers coming west on Highway 1 from Hope can get through, but eastbound traffic is closed, while Highway 3, the southern route out of the Lower Mainland, is completely cut off. 

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.

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