Kyle Piper carries his bike from his house through the floodwaters in Grand Forks, B.C., in May, 2018. .More than one year after rescuers swam from home to home in a low-income neighbourhood devastated by flooding in Grand Forks, B.C., some residents say they were rattled to learn the property buyouts they’ve been waiting for will be based on post-disaster values.
They have organized a neighbourhood meeting to discuss options but Soroka said he can’t afford a lawyer on his own.Recovery efforts in Grand Forks have been somewhat slow moving, in part because the situation is unprecedented. It’s the first community of its size in B.C. to experience flooding on this scale in decades and has become the test site for recovery efforts that could be duplicated in other places given the extreme weather brought on by climate change.
The money will support the purchase of properties to restore the North Ruckle neighbourhood to a natural flood plain, the reinforcement of about 1,300 metres of river bank and the construction of a new retention pond. “It’s really difficult for me to rationalize why the federal and provincial governments have taken this decision when you know that there are some examples in Manitoba, I think, and Quebec where the post-flood value was not used and they used a pre-flood value,” Taylor said.
Peterson said the province followed Ottawa’s lead when it determined funding support for buyouts would be based on pre-flood values, but added that focusing on property assessments doesn’t tell the whole story.Creating equitable support for residents is complicated when some were insured and received disaster relief funding and others didn’t, some also already invested in property improvements after the flood.
New Brunswick flood victims were eligible for a payout based on pre-flood property value assessments.
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