Flooding expected in parts of B.C.'s Fraser Valley, North Shore Mountains

The power is out for thousands in B.C.'s South Coast Monday, and flooding is expected in parts of the Fraser Valley and North Shore Mountains, as another round of heavy rain batters the province.

Environment Canada had issued a swath of weather alerts warning of heavy rain in the Fraser Valley and Lower Mainland on Monday.

Most of those warnings were lifted on Monday evening, though forecasters were continuing to warn of high winds in the Fraser Canyon until midnight.

The B.C. River Forecast Centre has upgraded the Chilliwack River and its tributaries to a flood warning, meaning river levels have exceeded or are expected to imminently exceed river banks, resulting in flooding in nearby areas.

The centre also upgraded the North Shore Mountains to a flood warning Monday morning.

In its latest advisory, it said rainfall rates are exceeding 10 millimetres per hour in the North Shore and above-freezing temperatures are allowing rain to melt snowpack at higher elevations.

The combination of heavy rain and snowmelt is driving rapid rises in local rivers, according to the centre, with the Seymour River already reaching a 50-year flow level.

Officials warned that flooding of areas adjacent to rivers is likely.

A flood warning also remains in place for the Sumas River, while river forecasts suggest the overflow from the Nooksack River in Washington state, which contributed to last week’s flooding in Abbotsford, has stopped.

When the Nooksack floods, it overflows its banks near the town of Everson, Wash., and pushes that excess water north into the Sumas River and B.C.

In Abbotsford, the receding floodwaters allowed officials to lift or downgrade many evacuation orders over the weekend and a few more on Monday.

Nearly 250 properties that were under an evacuation order are now on an alert, including the Castle Fun Park and Clarion Hotel in Abbotsford.

As of midday Monday, 75 properties in the city remain under order and 410 properties are under alert.

Agriculture Minister Lana Popham said 56 farms are under evacuation order, with another 13 on alert. She said there was damage to some barns and about six poultry farms were flooded.