B.C. government prepares for flooding when drought inevitably ends

The British Columbia government says it's ready to deploy sand bags and tiger dams in case flooding follows the ongoing drought.

Emergency Management BC says when rain falls after long dry spells, the parched soil can increase runoff and river flow.

It says the transition to the rainy season doesn't typically cause extensive flooding and the devastation wreaked by last year's atmospheric rivers was rare.

However, it adds that flooding is natural in B.C. and people living near streams and rivers that have breached their banks in previous years are encouraged to keep an eye on the weather and river conditions.

It also asks residents to prepare by making household emergency plans, putting together emergency kits and learning about local government response plans for their areas.

The government says it has four million sand bags prepared, plus 10 kilometres of gabions, a wall-like structure filled with sand, and 32 kilometres of tiger dams, the stackable orange tubes filled with water.

Following criticism last year, the province has also expanded its use of the Alert Ready system to broadcast emergency warnings directly to cellphones in case of wildfires and floods.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 13, 2022.