By Fraser-Nicola MLA Jackie Tegart

Helping our communities heal after disaster strikes

Aug 15, 2018 | 5:39 PM

WE ALL HAVE our day-to-day troubles, but sometimes it takes a major disaster to put things in perspective. If you woke up today with a roof over your head and your livelihood intact, you’re incredibly fortunate.

Others in our community are not so lucky right now. After praying for rain to assist our hard-working wildfire crews, we got much more than we bargained for— in the form of recent storm cells that have caused multiple mudslides on Highway 97 (just north of turnoff to Loon Lake Road), on Loon Lake Road, and more recently on Highway 1 (just east of Cache Creek).

I visited two families on Loon Lake Road that were impacted by these slides, who incidentally were also evacuated from their homes this time last year because of wildfires. The damage to their properties was extensive. One of the homeowners showed me a video of the water and mud rushing through his property, ruining his hay fields and surrounding his home. It was absolutely devastating to watch.

Despite this enormous setback, I was impressed by my constituents’ positive attitudes to move forward with cleanup and recovery. Unfortunately, this event will not be covered by the Disaster Financial Assistance Program as it did not meet the scope and scale of the program, however I will be exploring other avenues of support for them, and for others impacted.

But whether it’s flooding, mudslides or wildfires we also have to look at the longer-term picture beyond the short-term recovery. With regards to the flood situations we endured this year and last, some properties may flood again if nothing is done to mitigate for the future.

Boogie The Bridge

Boogie The Bridge Event Information

Apr 19, 2024

SOUND OFF

SOUND OFF: Police confirm diversion of government-supplied drugs

18h ago

ARMCHAIR MAYOR

ROTHENBURGER: A fond farewell to the airwaves from the Armchair Mayor

23h ago

Emergency Management BC does a great job of providing temporary flooding mitigation during these situations to respond to immediate risks. However after the event the equipment, resources, and material in some cases are taken away and no longer available.

There are some ways that municipalities and other eligible entities can pursue some more proactive and permanent measures—namely, Flood Mitigation Funding Programs. These are often joint provincial-federal-municipal funding models that have an application process attached to them.

Provincially, we might also look at more long-range water management and land use planning. This may require more communication and overlap amongst the various government ministries that are called into action to respond to disasters in our communities. We can see how each ministry’s narrow focus might make it difficult to see the bigger picture, so an improved exchange of ideas and information across ministries may be helpful.

That may well be the case with the various programs and organizations who work hard to respond to the needs of constituents impacted by disasters. Each has a different focus and eligibility criteria, and it can be challenging for residents and business owners to know how to navigate them— especially during such a stressful time.

This is not to suggest that government ministries and community organizations aren’t doing the best job they possibly can in these extremely difficult situations. But if there’s something—anything— we can do to prevent these events from happening again, or to alleviate some of the impacts on those affected, it’s always worth pursuing.

That’s why I have been carefully reviewing the fire and flood recommendations made by George Abbott and Maureen Chapman earlier this year, in their final report of the Independent Review of the 2017 Flood and Wildfire Seasons. I look forward to seeing the government respond to these 108 recommendations in meaningful ways— with a budget to back up those actions — so that we can better protect people, their property and their livelihoods in the future.

In the meantime we know that recovery from these major wildfires, floods and mudslides is going to take years for many folks. If you’re one of those rebuilding your home, your farm, or your business— please know that your MLA and your entire community are behind you.

And if you’re one of those lucky enough to have escaped this type of life-changing disruption, take a moment to reflect on how lucky you truly are— and then reach out your hand to help your neighbour.