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Now is the time to prepare for potential Fraser River flooding, says FVRD

Spring freshet still hasn’t arrived and snow pack is higher than normal throughout headwaters
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The Fraser River is low right now, but will soon rise with the spring freshet. And with that rise comes the annual preparations for flooding. (Jessica Peters/Hope Standard)

The Fraser River is low right now, but soon will rise with the spring freshet.

And with that rise comes the annual preparations for flooding. The Fraser Valley Regional District issued a reminder Tuesday to those along waterways to prepare now for potential flooding later.

Flood risk continues to increase as the snowmelt is delayed with this spring’s cooler weather. That means there is still a lot of snow in the mountains throughout the province that needs to flow downhill and downstream. And if there is a long heatwave in the next few weeks, that could mean a rapid rise in waterways.

B.C.’s River Forecast Centre issued a bulletin on May 15 which indicated that the snowpack throughout B.C. is well above normal and the headwaters of the Fraser River have well above normal snowpack.

The centre added that the catastrophic flooding that occurred in November 2021 made many rivers more vulnerable to freshet high flows. Fraser Valley Regional District is reminding those living in floodplain areas, especially those not protected by dikes, to pay attention to weather forecasts, flood warnings, and advisories put out by the BC River Forecast centre.

“Spring weather is impossible to predict with accuracy in advance, and communities and residents vulnerable to spring and summer flooding should prepare accordingly,” the FVRD reminder stated.

Information on how to be prepared for floods can be found on the Emergency Management BC website.

They also suggest everyone sign up for the Alertable app for emergency notifications. Alertable is an emergency notification system used by the FVRD to send alerts to people living, working, or traveling in the electoral area during critical events such as fires or floods.

READ MORE: Cool spring delayed snow melt but seasonal flood risk on Fraser River still weather dependent


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Jessica Peters

About the Author: Jessica Peters

I began my career in 1999, covering communities across the Fraser Valley ever since.
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