'The time to prepare is now': B.C. officials warn South Coast residents ahead of storms
CBC
Officials are warning residents on B.C.'s south coast to batten down the hatches and be prepared to flee if they live in a flood zone as a series of storms slams the already hard-hit region.
Provincial Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth, in a Thursday news conference, did not mince words when talking about another series of atmospheric rivers that hit southwest B.C. overnight into Thursday and which are forecast to bring up to 80 millimetres of rain to areas already hit by widespread flooding last week.
"The time to prepare is now," he said.
Farnworth advised residents in the region have an emergency kit at home and in their vehicle with food, water, blankets and other life-saving supplies on hand.
The B.C. government has been criticized for not doing enough to alert people about weather conditions last week after relentless rains caused fatal mudslides, mass evacuations due to flooding and destroyed highway infrastructure.
Provincial officials are reminding people that Environment Canada and Drive B.C. provide alerts and updates on weather and road conditions.
The first of three storms in the forecast has already arrived, with another expected early Saturday and the most intense and final storm to hit land Tuesday.
For many areas across the South Coast, this will be the all-time wettest month on record, according to CBC meteorologist Johanna Wagstaffe.
Farnworth said 250 culverts have been inspected because of the coming storms, road crews are standing by and emergency workers have also come from Alberta to help where needed.
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Minister of Municipal Affairs Josie Osborne said she and other ministers are speaking regularly with municipal leaders in areas affected by flooding and mudslides to hear how they can work better together.
"Staff are in daily contact with the communities that are impacted, working in collaboration with other ministries to co-ordinate responses so that communities don't have to reach out to several ministries to get the answers that they need," said Osborne.
According to Osborne, the Municipal Finance Authority of B.C has offered to help impacted communities with funding for rebuilding.
The minister said emergency money from the province is also available to local government to help with immediate infrastructure rebuilding and debris removal.
Windsor-Essex, Chatham-Kent and Sarnia can all expect between 20 and 40 millimetres of rainfall this weekend.
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