Abbotsford Mayor Ross Siemens has slammed the federal government for failing to come to the aid of his flood-ravaged community.He called on Ottawa to step up and provide much needed relief as the situation shows no signs of improving any time soon.."We need action now," Siemens said during a press conference on Friday. "We don't need empty promises from the federal government that they have our back. In fact that federal government has not even reached out to me during this event."He added he was "profoundly disappointed" by the lack of support."We have done everything including almost standing on our heads to be noticed and to be heard, and again to be disappointed by our federal government," Siemens explained, citing the region's flood mitigation plan set up in the wake of the 2021 disaster. "It's a foundational issue to our economy, our food security, and to put my city, my residents at risk again needlessly because of inaction is frustrating.".He then turned his attention to his neighbours to the south."I also need to have our friends in Washington state wake up and realize that the devastation that we're feeling here is no different than the flood mitigation and irrigation that the Columbia River Treaty was about," Siemens said. "This needs to be part of this international treaty because ... we cannot continue to take this water."He noted that he and provincial representatives will be travelling to Ottawa in the near future to "do the full court press" and try to get the federal government on board."This is a huge issue for not just Abbotsford, not just our region, not just our province," Siemens added. "Everything that's coming down that freeway is stalled once again.".UPDATED: Atmospheric river triggers evacuation orders, highway closures in Fraser Valley.The atmospheric river has wreaked havoc on the Fraser Valley, with heavy rains leading to numerous evacuation orders and highway closures.High amounts of precipitation are expected for the weekend through into next week.
