British Columbia helps 49 communities prepare for climate emergencies

In November 2021, flooding hit the agricultural Sumas Plain in southern British Columbia. (File photo)

British Columbia is providing a total of $23.4 million to 49 First Nations and local governments to help them prepare for and mitigate future climate change-related disasters, such as flooding or extreme temperatures consequences.

We need to make sure communities have the tools they need to mitigate and prepare for climate-related emergencies, Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Preparedness Bowinn Ma said at a conference. a press briefing in Chilliwack.

This announcement is one of the first steps the province is taking to that end, she said.

Bowinn Ma recently took over as head of the new Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Preparedness.

According to Kelli Paddon, MP for Chilliwack-Kent, also present at the announcement, the funds will be available for projects across the province.

For example, in Chilliwack they will contribute to upgrades to the Chilliwack Creek Drain Station, a critical part of the community's flood protection system.

They will also make it possible to build a new dike on the Coldwater River in Merritt or to set up misting stations in Victoria so that people can cool off during episodes of extreme heat, for example.

T'lat'lasik'wala First Nation, located in Port Hardy, Vancouver Island, will be able to conduct a natural disaster risk assessment. This does not cover all the work we have ahead of us. There is of course much more to do, however, indicated Bowinn Ma.

The new ministry, of which she recently took the helm, aims to better coordinate emergency efforts at the light of faults observed in 2021.

That summer, a heat dome killed nearly 600 people, according to the British Columbia Coroner's Office, and a fire devastated the village of Lytton. In November, torrential rains caused major flooding in southern British Columbia.

The list of 49 selected projects