Enhancing flood preparedness, response and recovery

The Provincial Flood Emergency Plan (790KB) describes how flood-related preparedness, response, and recovery is coordinated across the provincial government, local authorities, and First Nations.

The Plan supports clarifying roles and responsibility before, during and after a flood. The nature of flood risk at different locations and watersheds means a local perspective is crucial for successful planning in regard to flood preparedness, flood response and flood recovery.

Flood preparedness

Flood preparedness consists of actions taken by individuals, businesses and government to ensure each is ready to undertake response and recovery when required. Flood emergency planning and preparedness is generally a local government responsibility, but often requires collaboration and communications with regional, provincial and federal levels. Flood preparedness also helps ensure British Columbians and visitors receive timely flood warning information and develop and exercise comprehensive plans to respond to and recover from flood events.

Flood response

Flood response helps ensure activities are coordinated across agencies to effectively support all British Columbians. Emergency response can include construction of urgent flood mitigation works, temporary measures like sandbag dikes, and evacuation plans for people and animals. Before and during flood response, effective communication is critical so residents, visitors and businesses can take steps to protect life and property. If required evacuation needs to be managed and emergency shelter and other services provided.

Flood recovery

Flood recovery focuses on reducing risk in communities to prevent or mitigate future flooding. The goal of flood recovery is to increase community resilience to future flood disasters and to "Build Back Better" which includes, but is not limited to, rebuilding in a resilient, culturally safe and appropriate way, reducing future loss by ensuring reconstructed infrastructure can resist more intense events, accelerating reconstruction and ensuring the post-disaster support reaches all effected population groups.

Read British Columbia's Provincial Flood Emergency Plan (PDF, 790KB).