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BC communities are now better protected against flooding events.
Photo via visitrichmondbc.com
Disaster mitigation will make communities safer
Published 3:24 PDT, Wed April 26, 2023
Last Updated: 10:35 PDT, Thu April 27, 2023
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Communities throughout B.C. are better able to withstand floodwaters with the completion of 24 flood-mitigation, risk and hazard assessment projects as part of a joint B.C.-Canada funding program.
“Communities in flood-prone areas across the province know the importance of understanding the hazards and being prepared for flooding,” said Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness, Bowinn Ma. “By partnering with the federal government, we are maximizing funding and supporting communities in their work to become more resilient and better prepared to face damaging floods in the future.”
The projects are valued at nearly $11 million and are part of the National Disaster Mitigation Program, which cost-shares expenses between the federal, provincial and territorial governments.
“The Government of Canada will always be there to support Canadians, especially when it comes to preparing for and recovering from extreme weather events and natural disasters,” said federal Minister of Emergency Preparedness, Bill Blair. “We also recognize that Indigenous communities are among the most at risk from the increasing disaster-related impacts of climate change, and we’ll continue to work alongside First Nations partners to address their local resiliency needs. These projects are focused on advanced planning and mitigation efforts to reduce the risks of flooding events, which is a crucial element of building greater disaster resilience for the future.”
Among the projects is the development of flood mapping for high-flood-risk First Nations villages within the Nisga’a Nation in northwestern B.C., and 16 kilometres of a low-lying, exposed coastline highway. As part of the project, comprehensive river and coastal flood mapping has been developed for the only road connecting the villages of Gingolx and Laxgalts’ap along Nass Bay.
“This project is a positive step to protect Nisga’a lands and the people who live here,” said Eva Clayton, president, Nisga’a Lisims Government. “We look forward to working with the federal and provincial governments toward implementing other projects to protect our communities through this process.”
Projects were divided into four funding streams:
- risk assessments;
- flood mapping;
- mitigation planning; and
- investment in non-structural or small-scale structural mitigation.
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