
Senate report calls for comprehensive Fraser Valley flood plan
Global News
Flood waters due to a series of atmospheric rivers last November inundated 15,000 hectares of land and affected about 1,000 farms and 2.5 million livestock.
Nearly a year after devastating floods inundated British Columbia’s Fraser Valley, a federal Senate committee has recommended the creation of a comprehensive flood plan for the region.
Flood waters that rushed north from Washington state due to a series of atmospheric rivers last November inundated 15,000 hectares of land, affecting about 1,000 farms and 2.5 million livestock.
The total cost of last November’s floods is still being calculated, but has been estimated at more than a quarter-billion dollars.
Now, the Senate committee on agriculture has issued a trio of core recommendations aimed at preventing a similar future disaster.
First, the committee is calling on all levels of government to work together on a comprehensive flood plan for the entire Fraser Valley, which would be “critical” to protecting the productive agricultural region.
“Floods like those in southwest British Columbia in November 2021 will inevitably happen again and the damage they cause could be much worse,” Sen. Robert Black, chairman of the committee, said in a news release.
“To protect Fraser Valley residents, farmers and their livelihoods, the federal government must invest in and help the B.C. government update the province’s outdated flood mitigation infrastructure.”
The committee further recommended that officials develop a method of more quickly getting disaster relief funds to affected farmers.