Pemberton resident describes waist-deep floodwater as evacuations continue

CityNews shows flooded homes and farmland north of Whistler, with Highway 99 damaged and more rain in the forecast.

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CityNews Story of November 14, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? The video opened at a pace of 68,116 views a day, 28 times a normal first day on this channel (2,391).

Evacuation orders near Pemberton as historic floods inundate region

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CityNews reporter Jack Rabb documents the aftermath of heavy rain and melting snowpack near Pemberton, British Columbia, where overflowing rivers have flooded homes and forced residents to evacuate.

For Chris Bajger, the danger escalated in the middle of the night. "The water went from ankle deep to almost waist deep in less than an hour," he says. His account gives a sense of how quickly conditions changed for people in the path of the water.

The Lil'wat Nation describes the event as a 200-year flood, coming after a difficult wildfire season. Bajger speaks about the exhaustion of facing disasters back to back: "It's really testing everybody and our strength."

The report shows local closures, sinkholes on Highway 99 and widespread property damage. The highway's Sea to Sky section connects Vancouver with Squamish, Whistler and Pemberton, making the damage significant for travel through the corridor.

Aerial footage shows the extent of the flooding across homes and farmland. Pemberton resident and helicopter pilot David Lewis says large areas remain underwater, even as officials report that floodwaters are beginning to recede.

The Short reached more than 53,000 views in its first 15 hours, far beyond CityNews's usual Shorts audience. A follow-up report says evacuation orders and alerts remain in place near Pemberton, while Lewis warns that more rain is in the forecast.