B.C. failing on flood preparedness, report finds
British Columbia is one of the least prepared provinces to deal with a major flood, according to a recently released national report called Climate Change and the Preparedness of Canadian Provinces and Yukon to Limit Potential Flood Damage.
B.C. and Prince Edward Island have the lowest overall grade of D. Ontario scored the highest with a B-minus on preparedness to limit climate change-related flood damage.
No province was a standout. The overall average for all 10 provinces and Yukon was C. British Columbia received a D grade in 11 of the 12 assessment categories that examined issues, such as whether the province or territory has a flood plan map, how well the transportation system would function during flooding and are drinking water sources protected from the negative effects of flooding.
The one category B.C. scored higher than a D was health services delivery. The report gave B.C. a C rating, noting B.C.’s health-care facilities are typically located on higher ground or behind a primary dike system as is the case in the Fraser Valley.
The survey, done by researchers with the University of Waterloo, recommended five actions that needed to be taken immediately to limit future flood risk. These included:
■ Provinces and territories should each create the position of a Chief Adaptation Officer who would have the mandate to identify problem areas and actions needed to mitigate flood risk.
■ The CAOs would also have the responsibility to ensure flood preparedness is deployed and would have direct accountability to the premiers.
■ Public reports stating the level of preparedness should be issued at least every five years.
■ Any new development in flood-prone areas should either be restricted or, at the minimum, be flood-resilient.
■ Infrastructure should be re-built to meet new and future projected climate realities when it is practical and cost-effective to do so.
“Recognizing the climate change and extreme flood potential will continue unabated across Canada, the provinces and territories should immediately address the above five points to avoid otherwise inevitable and irreversible financial and social strife,” the report states.
Having a flood map shows areas that would be covered by water or the elevation water could reach during a flood. But the report noted B.C.’s flood hazard maps were last updated in 2001.
“One explanation for dated flood hazard maps may be a belief that the likelihood of receiving disaster relief funding from the province is lower, if local governments have updated flood hazard maps and flooding has occurred in these flood hazard areas. In other words, the local governments in British Columbia may not have positive incentives to update and develop new flood hazard maps,” the report states.