The Cowichan Valley Regional District will receive $550,000 in provincial funding to support recovery work and get people back into their communities after the major flooding event last November.
The grant will help the CVRD with costs related to flood planning and mapping for infrastructure, and development of an early warning system for the Chemainus River floodplain.
Doug Routley, MLA for Nanaimo-North Cowichan, said the damage to people’s homes and local roads caused by the floods highlighted how important it is to plan ahead for future floods.
“This funding for planning and an early warning system for the Chemainus River floodplain will help the CVRD prepare our communities for potential flood events,” he said.
The CVRD is one of 10 communities in B.C. severely affected by the floods that are receiving a total of $53.6 million to help pay for recovery efforts.
The other communities are Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Fraser Valley Regional District, Hope, Kent, Merritt, Mission, Princeton and Thompson-Nicola Regional District.
“The November floods were a stark reminder of the climate crisis and the impacts extreme weather events are having on people and our communities,” said Minister of Municipal Affairs Nathan Cullen.
“Our government is committed to ensuring local governments and their residents have access to the resources they need to recover, including housing in the medium term, while we work to develop long-term solutions to better protect people and communities.”
This funding is in addition to more than $2.1 billion that the province’s budget for 2022 provides to help people recover from last year’s floods and wildfires, and to better protect communities against future climate disasters.