Communities throughout British Columbia are receiving approximately $9.5 million in provincial emergency preparedness funding for structural flood mitigation, such as pump stations and dikes.

The Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) has released the funding for the structural flood mitigation component of the Community Emergency Preparedness Fund. The funding is part of a $33.5-million plan designed to help communities prepare for, and respond to, disasters.

“When we released the first round of funding, I talked about how critically important these programs are to assist our most vulnerable communities,” said Mike Farnworth, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General. “The flooding we continued to see in the province this year shows this funding is more vital than ever to make sure communities are prepared.”

Jennifer Rice, Parliamentary Secretary for Emergency Preparedness, agrees. “Emergency preparedness is everyone’s job, and with this funding, we can help communities become more resilient," she said. "It’s just one more way we’re helping communities lessen the impacts of emergencies and disasters.”

The first three areas of funding focused on:

• Non-structural flood mitigation, including risk assessments, flood mapping and flood mitigation planning.
• Emergency social services, including developing the kinds of registration systems, protocols and procedures to streamline the delivery of social services to affected communities.
• Emergency operation centre equipment and supplies, such as cots, blankets and emergency social services volunteer training.

Further funding, expected in 2019, will focus on evacuation routes, including mapping and building routes out of communities that only have one road in and out of town.

Learn More:

For more information about individual community projects and how much they cost, visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/emergency-preparedness-response-recovery/emergency-management-bc/bc-disaster-mitigation/flood-mitigation-funding-programs