As temperatures and flood waters continue to rise throughout the province, the Government of B.C. is assisting local governments as needed.

Many residents have already experienced some flooding.

Emergency Management BC, the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development and the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure are working together with municipalities and regional districts to minimize damage and keep people safe.

“We’re hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst, by supporting communities to prepare for and hopefully prevent the same kind of flooding that we witnessed last year,” said Mike Farnworth, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General for British Columbia.

According to Farnworth, a high snowpack and warming temperatures are some of the leading causes of unusual flooding.

Provincial Regional Operations Centres in Kamloops, Prince George and Nelson have already been activated.

The province has also:

• Activated the Provincial Emergency Coordination Centre (PECC) on the Saanich Peninsula. The aim is to co-ordinate flood response efforts throughout the province
• Deployed almost two million sandbags to local governments to protect homes and public infrastructure
• Provided a total of six sandbag machines to Cache Creek, Oliver, Vernon, Willowbrook and Kelowna 
• Currently deployed 140 B.C. Wildfire Service firefighters to Kelowna and Oliver to assist with sandbagging
• Shipped 1.2 kilometres of gabions and 9.8 kilometres of tiger dams to the Okanagan
• The River Forecast Centre and regional operations are providing water flow expertise, as well as dam safety officers, geotechnical specialists and engineers in affected areas

Flooding can happen suddenly, click here for tips on flood preparedness, prevention and evacuation.