For Immediate Release
2007OTP0051-000501
April 21, 2007
Office of the Premier
Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General
FLOOD MITIGATION WORKS ON TRACK FOR MAY COMPLETION
VICTORIA – Eighty-seven flood protection projects are on track to be completed by mid-May in communities across B.C. with $33 million in provincial funding for flood mitigation now allocated,
Premier Gordon Campbell announced today.
“I want to thank local governments for working with us to quickly identify priority projects and get to work in preparing for potential flooding this spring,” Campbell said. “We’ve learned from our own flooding experiences in 1948 and 1999, and from those around the world, that proactive prevention, planning and preparedness are the keys to reducing the threat to public safety and reducing damages associated with natural hazards. That’s why we’ve made this largest ever provincial investment in B.C. history to help communities prepare.”
Snowpack levels throughout B.C. are high and in many cases at record levels for this time of year.
In early March, the Province asked local governments and diking authorities to identify critical flood protection measures as a way to mitigate potential flood damages.
The Province continues to work with local governments to address flood concerns in their communities. While applications for flood protection projects are no longer being accepted, the Province will assist local governments with flood response measures such as temporary dikes where and when they are requested. In addition, flood preparedness workshops for local government and emergency officials are currently underway while over 1.5 million sandbags have been provided to communities.
“I still believe the federal government will partner with us on protecting B.C. communities,” said
Campbell. “As I’ve said before, our request for 50 per cent of what the Province has already spent, is a good deal for Ottawa.”
The federal government pays up to 90 per cent of Disaster Financial Assistance costs.
The Provincial Emergency Program works year-round with local governments to prepare for emergencies. For more information on how you and your family can prepare for an emergency, visit www.pep.bc.ca
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1 backgrounder(s) attached.
Media contact:
Mike Morton
Press Secretary
Glen Plummer
Communications Manager
Provincial Emergency Program Office of the Premier
250 213-8218 250 952-4846
1 800 663-3456
For more information on government services or to subscribe to the Province’s news feeds using RSS, visit the Province’s website at www.gov.bc.ca
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