The evacuation order was lifted on Friday in the northern Sumas Prairie area in Abbotsford, British Columbia.
• Read also: See the floods coming to better prepare for them
• Read also: Donation of $ 200,000 for British Columbia
• Read also: British Columbia back on high alert
This is the first region where citizens are allowed to return to the fold.
The mayor of this municipality, Henry Braun, could not hide his emotion when he made the announcement at a press conference on Friday afternoon.
He explained that residents of other areas, namely the south, the center and the bottom of the lake, will be allowed to return to their homes when the waters recede. He unveiled his card which plans the return home.
“The goal is to bring as many people as possible home,” he added.
He is aware that even if the residences become accessible, that does not mean that they will be habitable.
The first magistrate assured that everyone was doing their best to transmit information and resources to help citizens as much as possible.
Agriculture Minister Lana Popham said at a press conference on Thursday that drier weather would be key to removing carcasses of animals that died in the floods.
She then announced the tragic disappearance of 640,000 animals. This total includes 628,000 poultry, 12,000 pigs and 420 dairy cows. In addition, 110 beehives were destroyed.
More than 800 farms were still being evacuated on Thursday at the time of the minister’s announcement. The number of animal deaths is therefore expected to change.
News on Friday was somewhat more positive, as only 2% of the annual turkey production was lost in the province and 98% of cows in the Sumas region survived the floods.
Water levels still exceed five feet in depth in some areas and the damage now needs to be assessed not only for hundreds of homeowners but also for the farming community, with their livelihoods at stake and the lost livestock that have been extremely difficult to process.
“The work of farmers, volunteers and businesses to clean barns continues to be extremely heartbreaking. I ask people to be empathetic and considerate in their comments as they continue to do this very difficult job, ”said Minister Popham.
On the highway side, the reopening of the Trans-Canada Highway is expected to relieve pressure on Highway 7 on the north side of the Fraser River, which was the only corridor for commercial travel between Metro Vancouver and the interior of Columbia. British.
Highway 1 is however still closed from Boothroyd to Lytton and from Lytton Bridge to Spences.
Highways 5, 8, 11 and 99 remain closed.