BC Gov News

The Government of British Columbia has awarded almost $6.5 million to fund 10 disaster-mitigation projects. These will support community emergency preparedness activities and planning.

The projects include:

Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction, Western University – Metro Vancouver-region seismic-microzonation mapping and professional practice guidelines – $1.5 million

• To expand the geographic scope of an existing seismic mapping project to include additional communities within the Metro Vancouver area.
• The project will enhance provincial understanding of earthquake-related hazards, including slope instability, liquefaction and ground shaking.
• The funding will allow for engineers and geoscientists to conduct a peer review of project outcomes and create professional practice guidelines to assist professionals to interpret and use seismic hazard maps.

Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) – Flood mitigation – $1.5 million

• To support local government flood-mitigation projects through the UBCM Community Emergency Preparedness Fund.
• To assist local governments to conduct flood risk assessments; develop up-to-date flood maps, and prepare flood-mitigation plans.
• Local governments can apply for funding for these types of projects through the Community Emergency Preparedness Fund, administered by the Union of BC Municipalities.

Okanagan Water Basin Board – LiDAR (light detection and ranging) and ortho-imagery acquisition for Okanagan watershed – $1.45 million 

• To obtain aerial photos and surface topography for the entire Okanagan watershed. The data will be primarily used to update flood maps, and conduct computer modelling of water levels during the spring freshet. 

Central Coast Reginal District – Risk assessment and flood modeling – $500,000

• To develop a flood risk assessment and to model several flood scenarios in the Bella Coola Valley. These studies will help identify flood hazards, potential community impacts, and infrastructure vulnerabilities.

District of Stewart – Bear River structural flood mitigation – $500,000

• To structurally improve the Bear River diking system to prevent flooding of the District of Stewart. Structural improvements will include raising the height of the dike.

Fire Chiefs Association of B.C. – Interface structure fire protection pre-plans – $450,000

• To create wildfire emergency preparedness plans for up to 150 communities, including First Nations. The plans will identify water sources, equipment requirements and strategies to help protect a community from wildfire. 

Seismic Resilience Innovation Corporation – Prioritized post-earthquake response (PPR) -$250,000

• To better understand the effects of earthquakes on critical facilities, including hospitals and emergency shelters.  
• To implement a prioritized post-earthquake response (PPR) system in key critical facilities, including government buildings, hospitals, emergency shelters and other infrastructure in southwest B.C. This will involve installing earthquake sensors and undertaking a series of engineering assessments in order to determine how these structures can be expected to perform in the event of a major earthquake.

Fraser Basin Council – LiDAR acquisition for Lower Fraser and Harrison River channel gravel reaches – $100,000

• To collect topographic information of the Lower Fraser and Harrison River channel to better understand the impacts of gravel bars on water flows.

Avalanche Canada – Mountain information network implementation – $50,000

• To develop a crowdsourced public avalanche condition reporting system in regions where avalanche forecasting is sparse.

District of Stewart – Avalanche risk assessment – $80,000

• To update mapping tools to improve the ability of the District of Stewart and the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure avalanche technician team to assess areas vulnerable to avalanches. The aim is to improve public safety and mitigate damages to infrastructure.