Image Credit: Greg Lowis / City of Merritt / Nov. 2021 Flooding

By Doug Collins

One Man's Opinion

COLLINS: 2022 could be all about the weather

May 6, 2022 | 4:32 AM

“I’VE SEEN FIRE and I’ve seen rain.” So go the lyrics of a hit song by James Taylor.

We saw that last year in many parts of the province. And we are being warned almost daily now about the potential of another year similar to last.

The potential for a high spring freshet followed by blistering heat.

Even though relatively few areas have very high snowpacks, the warnings are out there.

Clearwater, Kamloops, Merritt and parts of the Okanagan always have the potential for a rapid runoff if the temperatures rise quickly.

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Wildfires can hit quickly, and we had instances in Lytton and Monte Lake last year where populated areas were destroyed.

Few will ever forget the flooding last fall that put much of the Fraser Valley underwater.

All of this causing millions, if not billions of dollars to repair.

And what are we doing to fix this? Not a lot so far.

If you’re not worried, you should be.

Some funds for mitigation have trickled down, but it’s a very small, I repeat, VERY SMALL amount of what’s needed.

Climate change is going to play a large role in the problem, as experts predict these conditions will only intensify in the years to come.

What do we have to do to prepare?

Well, part of the answer is to have a properly costed plan, fully functional and ready to deal with any emergency. But it’s slow to happen. Too slow.

A disturbing seven-part report that began yesterday in Postmedia newspapers, suggests that two-thirds of communities in B.C. are without such an emergency plan.

These include Kamloops and most other centres throughout the Interior.

Most of these communities have started their plans but are not finished. According to the Postmedia report, places like Merritt have not even started.

With 46,000 people evacuated last year, and with a number of these people still without a replacement residence, we seem to be setting ourselves up for more of the same.

The province seems to have set municipalities up to take the fall, putting them in charge of the planning.

But municipalities can’t possibly pay the billions of dollars required to get the job done. The funds have to come from higher powers. And that hasn’t happened.

May 10 marks the next report on snowpacks throughout the province. It will provide a good indicator of what spring flooding might look like.

We already know this summer is expected to be fairly dry again, so the indicators are already pointing to another year like last.

Let’s hope that’s not the way it turns out.

I’m Doug Collins and that’s One Man’s Opinion.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.