BC increases emergency preparedness funding by $180M, launches new online tool

On Tuesday, the province announced it would be increasing funding for the Community Emergency Preparedness Fund (CEPF) by $180 million.

This brings the fund up to nearly $370 million for communities toa access when preparing for the risk of natural disasters related to climate change.

“BC has seen more than our share of climate disasters, so there’s urgency to be ready and equipped to minimize damage and recover quickly when the worst happens,” said Premier David Eby.

“New funding for projects in communities, combined with a new online hub of information resources for local leaders, will help us all be better prepared to face emergencies.”

In addition, the province is also launching a new online hub to help people and communities prepare for, mitigate and understand disaster and climate risks in their regions.

ClimateReadyBC will feature historical data on where floods, wildfires or other extreme weather events took place and what caused it.

The tool will provide hazard and mapping tools, risk data and other resources to help communities prepare for disasters or climate emergencies.

Along with the new financial investment, more funding will be available through each of the seven streams under CEPF.

For example, the funding stream for disaster-risk reduction will support projects, such as dikes or pumpstations, has increased from $2 million to up to $5 million per project.

Communities can also access the fund to help deal with and prepare for extreme cold events, in addition to extreme heat events.

In addition the province is scheduled to introduce a new provincial extreme heat-risk portal this summer. It will allow local authorities to add and edit cooling facility data.

“People in British Columbia understand how important it is to invest in resilient communities and infrastructure so that we’re much better prepared for the ongoing impacts of climate change,” said George Heyman, minister of environment and climate change strategy.