The Minister of Emergency Management in British Columbia announced new funding of $39 million for more than 50 new projects to respond to the most frequent climate-related emergencies across the province.

The province also unveiled today, Thursday, a new plan for flood disaster prevention, response, and recovery assistance.

The Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Preparedness, Bowinn Ma, said that the need for a new plan arose after the atmospheric floods in November 2021 which caused catastrophic flooding, deadly landslides, and destruction of major highways across British Columbia.

Ma said during a press conference today, Thursday: "2021 was a turning point when we realized that the climate crisis had hit our home in a truly resounding way," as the 2021 atmospheric river is etched in the memories of British Columbians.

She continued, "In the face of climate change, our government is focusing more strongly on disaster preparedness and mitigation, while ensuring our response to active emergencies and recovery for affected communities and individuals."

The 2021 disaster cost governments and insurance companies at least $675 million, and also sparked repeated criticism of recovery support and delays from both Victoria and Ottawa.

With climate change, the cost of these emergencies is expected to rise, with one study estimating that floods, storms, and droughts could cost the Canadian economy nearly $140 billion over three decades.

In response, Ma said that the province will fund more than 50 new projects in municipalities and First Nations across British Columbia to help prepare for climate emergencies and become more resilient, in addition to more than $200 million the province has already spent on nearly 2,000 similar projects under the Community Emergency Preparedness Fund.

The new projects include a wide range of "resilience" measures for multiple types of climate-related disasters, including:

Strengthening riverbanks vulnerable to erosion in Langley;

Repairing and upgrading flood prevention dams in Richmond and Surrey;

Enhancing sewage pump systems in Surrey;

Mapping Langley floodplains.

Rehabilitating the watershed in the Kootenay border area;

New cooling, heating, and clean air centers in Vancouver.

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

As part of the efforts, New British Columbia was established. Minister of Lands, Water, and Resource Management Nathan Cullen explained that the flood plan unveiled on Thursday contains four main pillars.

These are mapping and risk assessment for floodplains; improving response and recovery; reducing risks faced by communities; and enhancing coordination and communication across different levels of government.

Cullen noted that "like droughts, now with the risk of climate change, we expect floods to be much larger and have much greater regional impacts," adding "They say the best time to plant a tree was yesterday, and the next best time is today."

He said the impacts of climate change on communities, especially on flooding, have happened in British Columbia "much faster" than expected.

He added that one of the challenges is that "successive governments" in British Columbia have found the cost of fully preparing for such disasters to be "prohibitively expensive."

In 2022, the province estimated that the cost of repairing and upgrading dams alone could reach $9 billion.

Therefore, Cullen said it is important to sit down with First Nations and municipalities to develop a strategy on how to achieve a more effective plan.

He continued: "This is very exhausting for communities, we can reduce flood risks and keep people safe."

Chief of the Stó:lō Nation, Tyrone McNeil, thanked the province for listening to First Nations in developing its new plan, and said that during 25 years of leadership, he finally felt he had a heard voice on disaster response and preparedness issues.

He said: "This is the first time we actually sit beside officials and share the pen, passing the pen back and forth until we reached common ground." "I really feel good about that."