Most of the people forced out of their homes along the Chilliwack River in B.C.'s Fraser Valley on Monday have been told water levels have receded enough to allow them to go home again.

The evacuation of about 200 homes was ordered after heavy rains boosted the river to dangerous levels.

Emergency social services volunteers gave the evacuees staying at hotels and with friends and relatives the good news on Tuesday afternoon.

Near-record rainfall of 300 millimetres caused the Chilliwack River to overflow.
(CBC)

"Basically everyone can go home, except if you live on Wilson Road. Then you have to stay here for another few nights. Everyone else can go home if they choose," said spokeswoman Kim Walker.

"If they feel uncomfortable going home, or if they've got water in their house, then they can spend one more night in the hotel."

Emergency officials also said that power is being restored in the flooded areas on Tuesday afternoon.

Earlier, they had said they were cautiously optimistic the worst flooding was over on the South Coast and had downgraded the flood alert to a flood watch.

About 300 millimetres of rain fell on parts of the region in the past few days, causing the Chilliwack River to overflow.

Chilliwack, about 100 kilometres east of Vancouver, was the hardest hit by the near-record rainfall.

A mudslide east of Hope closed Highway 3 on Monday. The road has been reopened.
(CBC)

Another 25 families in Hope, east of Chilliwack, were also forced from their homes by rising waters on Monday. There's no word on when they might be allowed to go home.

Meanwhile, Highway 3 has been reopened in both directions near the junction with Highway 5 just east of Hope. It was closed Monday by a mudslide triggered by the heavy rain.

However, the road is still closed in both directions from Harrison Mills to Hemlock Valley.

Washington state hit hard

The weather system that dumped heavy rain on the south coast of B.C. also hit northwestern Washington state. Eighteen counties are under a state of emergency because of severe flooding.

An elk hunter was killed as his pickup was swept away by flood waters on Monday. Other people were stranded and had to be rescued by police and the National Guard.

Mud and rock slides are blocking a number of highways in Washington.

Environment Canada meteorologist Gary Dickenson said there will be a break in the weather this week, but it is not expected to last.

Tuesday's forecast calls for rain to ease for a few days, but another big system is expected in the Fraser Valley later in the week.

Monday's downfall a 'moss lifter'

Environment Canada meteorologist Anne McCarthy told CBC News that Monday's rain was memorable for its intensity.

The Chilliwack River has subsided and most of the 200 families forced out on Monday are being allowed to go home.
(CBC)

"You know how you can water your garden and you can set it to a broad spray. Or you can set it to a nice little narrow nozzle and you can lift the moss off the sidewalk. This was a moss lifter."

In the Fraser Valley community of Agassiz, about 115 kilometres east of Vancouver, 179 millimetres of rain fell in just one day, an amount that exceeds by more than 30 millimetres a record set three years ago.

Mayor Lorne Fisher said Monday there was some flooding on downtown streets, but drought-like conditions this past fall lessened the impact of the heavy rain.

"I've been out and around the series of drainage ditches we have throughout the agricultural land, and the buildup of water wasn't as much as I had expected," said Fisher.