Fraser Valley Regional District says requests for emergency funding denied, calls on province for urgent help

The Fraser Valley Regional District (FVRD) is putting out an SOS to the province, saying delays and denials of flood-recovery funding by the B.C. government are worsening an already dire situation.

The district, which includes the communities of Hope, Abbotsford and Chilliwack, was hit hard by flooding earlier this month that destroyed homes, crops, and critical infrastructure, and continuous rain has hampered those recovery efforts.

So too, has the provincial government, according to district chair Jason Lum.

Lum said Tuesday the district has made over 50 different requests to the provincial government since the mid-month flooding event that have gone unanswered. Others, he says, were answered too late.

"The response system is broken," said Lum.

According to Lum, urgent requests by the FVRD Emergency Operations Centre included one for $1.5 million in funding to shore up Othello Road, located by the Coquihalla River near Hope. 

In that case, he says, a request went to Emergency Management British Columbia Nov. 24 and, despite FVRD staff continuously following up, they received no response for five days.

"When the situation on the ground is changing, not day by day but actually minute by minute and hour by hour, we do not have the luxury of time," Lum said on the CBC's The Early Edition.

He says by the time verbal approval was granted, Othello Road was gone, swept into the raging river along with some homes. 

As of Wednesday, Lum says several homes are teetering on the edge near the Wilson Road dike and are at risk of also being swallowed by the river.

"When I say they are teetering, they are really teetering on the edge and about to wash into the river, but we believe we can save those homes," he said.

Government says regional districts have power to act

Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth responded to Lum's allegations in a statement on Tuesday afternoon, saying local governments were empowered to take action themselves during states of emergency.

"To be clear, the claim that local governments need to wait on the province to receive authorization to take public safety actions is incorrect," he said. "In fact, there are countless communities around the province taking the actions necessary to protect their communities as we speak."

Farnworth said Emergency Management B.C. staff had reached out to Lum and the FVRD after Tuesday's statement "to ensure they have the support they need."

FVRD staff say they have been working around the clock with first responders to help residents impacted by the disaster and applied to Emergency Management B.C. for $30,000 in funding to support the standby efforts of FVRD volunteer fire departments. That request, according to the FVRD, was denied.

Now, Lum says he is worried the situation could worsen while the district still chases funding for earlier flood damage.

A series of storm events have continued to dump rain on the region, hampering recovery efforts and causing provincial and municipal officials to issue flood and weather advisories 

"We need those requests to be granted," he said.

Available funding support

The B.C. government has made supports available to residents of the region in need.

British Columbians who were ordered to evacuate their homes from Nov. 14 to 16 due to flooding will receive additional financial support from the Red Cross, according to the province. 

Eligible households will receive $2,000. To access that money, evacuees must register with the Red Cross by calling 1-800-863-6582. 

This is in addition to the Disaster Financial Assistance funding announced last week, which was made available for homeowners, residential tenants, small business owners, farmers and charitable organizations whose insurance doesn't cover disaster-related losses.