'Expect the unexpected': $39M allocated to reduce impacts of climate emergencies in B.C.

Dozens of local projects across B.C. that aim to reduce the impacts of weather emergencies will get provincial funding, officials announced Thursday.

More than 50 disaster-risk reduction projects will receive part of a $39 million investment from the province's community emergency preparedness fund. B.C. Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness Bowinn Ma, Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship Nathan Cullen, Stó:lo Tribal Council Chief Tyrone McNeil, and Vancouver Coun. Pete Fry were all present for the morning news conference, where the funding was announced.

"If the weather events of the past two years have taught us anything, it is to expect the unexpected and prepare for the worst," Ma said.

"The atmospheric river events of 2021 are seared into the memories of so many British Columbians. The flooding and landslides were devastating to communities and to our province's critical infrastructure. That same year we experienced an unprecedented heat dome and witnessed the devastation of Lytton by wildfire; 2021 was a turning point when the realities of the climate crisis hit home in a truly resounding way."

Some of the projects that will receive funding include a dike rehabilitation project in Richmond, repairs to creek-side slopes in Langley, reinforcement to a drainage-pump system in Surrey, and upgrades to two community centres in Vancouver so they can serve as cooling, warming and clean-air centres during extreme temperature periods.

"Whether fires, floods or droughts, we know people are experiencing the impacts of climate change much faster than predicted," Cullen said.

Cullen also announced the release of the province's new flood strategy, which he said will reduce flood risks and strengthen responses to flood events.

"We have worked very closely with First Nations and local governments to draft the new flood strategy, with multiple First Nations partners sharing the pen throughout the drafting process," he said.

The strategy is meant to guide government responses to floods until 2035.