Henry Braun

The city came "perilously close" to running out of clean drinking water during last November's floods, and it wasn't the first time the problem has arisen.

Although the federal and provincial governments have pledged funds to guard communities from the effects of climate change, most protection measures won't be in place in time for this season.

British Columbia mayors whose communities were devastated by last year's flooding and wildfires want the federal government to deliver billions of dollars in promised funding as soon as possible.

Unprecedented flooding in southwestern British Columbia has left hard-hit communities dealing with the disposal of debris like drywall, insulation, silt-soaked mattresses, couches and kitchen cupboards damaged by water that gutted homes and businesses.

British Columbia is shifting into repair and recovery mode following devastating floods and landslides caused by record rains that crippled transportation links, deluged agricultural operations and forced the evacuations of thousands of people, says the province's public safety minister.

British Columbia's public safety minister got a first-hand look on Friday, December 3, 2021, of the destruction caused by torrential rainstorms that forced rivers over their banks and ripped away roads and bridges.

The successive storms that brutalized southern British Columbia with floods and slides caused by record amounts of rainfall were declared over on Thursday, December 2, 2021, but now the cleanup and costly rebuild lie ahead, says the public safety minister.

Flood warnings were issued on Wednesday, December 1, 2021, for several major rivers in British Columbia as a federal scientist says record-setting rainfall and alpine temperatures are consistent with climate change.

Fuel rationing in parts of British Columbia was extended on Monday, November 29, 2021, for another two weeks until Dec. 14 to allow crews to bring the Trans Mountain pipeline back online after a series of devastating storms, floods and slides in the southern part of the province.

British Columbia is prepared to use a national emergency alert system ahead of what could be the most intense rainfall since a storm two weeks ago devastated communities and destroyed critical infrastructure, the government announced on Sunday, November 28, 2021.

The federal and British Columbia governments have created a joint committee of cabinet ministers to deal with the devastation caused by flooding, while also promising to match donations given to the Canadian Red Cross.

British Columbia's public safety minister says more than 6,500 people have registered as evacuees and those whose homes were flooded last week are eligible for a $2,000 grant through the Canadian Red Cross and the province.

The federal government promised to expedite employment insurance applications and ease travel restrictions at British Columbia's borders on Sunday, November 21, 2021, among a host of measures meant to help residents of the flood-ravaged province recover from recent storms and weather new ones expected in the days ahead.

Senior government officials in British Columbia warned residents on Saturday, November 20, 2021, to brace for another round of weekend rainstorms even as the death toll from floods triggered by the last round of extreme weather continued to rise.

Karl Meier has spent days battling to save his property and dairy cattle from flooding in British Columbia's Fraser Valley, but he says the biggest issue right now is with local law enforcement.