Federal minister to announce recovery funding after B.C.’s 2021 flood: government

By The Canadian Press on February 23, 2023.

ABBOTSFORD, B.C. – Canada’s emergency preparedness minister is returning to the epicentre of flooding that devastated British Columbia’s Fraser Valley in November 2021.

Bill Blair, along with B.C. Minister of Emergency Management Bowinn Ma and Abbotsford Mayor Ross Siemens, is set to take part in an announcement today on federal disaster recovery funding for the province.

A series of atmospheric rivers washed over southern B.C. over three days in mid-November 2021, triggering flooding that inundated farmland and killed thousands of animals.

Five people died when a mudslide washed over Highway 99 north of Pemberton, and at the peak of the flooding, 15,000 people were evacuated from their homes.

The rains swelled numerous rivers, which washed away bridges and stretches of highway, cutting off the Lower Mainland from the rest of the country.

The Insurance Bureau of Canada estimated the cost of insured flood damage was at least $450 million, making it the most expensive disaster in the province’s history.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 23, 2023.

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