Skip to content

The Editor’s Desk: The new normal?

More flooding in Cache Creek saw volunteers swing into action. Is this all we can do?
11669176_web1_Editor-s-desk-180219-ACC-M

“Here we go again.”

Those words—or some variation of them—must have gone through the minds of many in Cache Creek and the surrounding area as word spread last week: first that the creek itself was running fast and hard and threatening to overwhelm culverts, and then that it had breached culverts in two spots, causing floodwater and debris to sweep through town, threatening properties, houses, and businesses, and causing untold damage.

The ferocity and remorselessness of Mother Nature was once more on show, in a display that Cache Creek has sadly become all-too-accustomed to. This year, sandbags had been prepared and distributed in advance to those who needed them, but on April 28—the day after the worst of the flooding (so far; as I write this the Bonaparte River has yet to crest)—a steady stream of residents came to pick up still more sandbags, faster than volunteers at the fire hall and the park could fill them.

Veterans of past floods swung into action before the worst happened, building a sandbag wall across the front of the fire hall which spared that building (although having learned from the past, firefighters had opened the front and back bay doors and moved the fire vehicles to the back of the parking lot for safety). Village crew members, staff, firefighters, volunteers, and local contractors were on hand throughout the night of April 28–29 to do what needed to be done. Next day, the Cache Creek fire hall was once again an emergency hub, with volunteers on hand to provide food, water, coffee, and more for anyone who needed it, in what is surely a well-rehearsed routine by now.

Everyone knew exactly what to do, and without fuss went ahead and did it. It’s a wonderful tribute to many people that everything went so smoothly and that damage was minimized as much as possible. But the question remains: is this the new normal for Cache Creek, and other communities which have found themselves coping with flooding over the last week or so?

That phrase—“the new normal”—has been heard a lot since last year, after devastating floods around the province and the worst wildfire season on record. But surely we can do more than simply react when these things happen. If, for example, severe flooding in Cache Creek is to become a regular occurrence, rather than a once in a blue moon event, what can be done to ensure that the potential for damage is reduced even more, before events happen?

Sandbags are an excellent precaution, and kudos to the Village for making sure they were available to all who needed them to safeguard their properties. Praise, too, must go to all those who knew precisely what to do, and did it in a calm and reassuring manner.

But once this flood season is over, it might be salutary for all levels of government to look at what can be done in advance of flood season, and start looking at ways in which to do it. Property owners, too, should look to see what—if any—steps they can take to ensure that their homes and businesses are safeguarded, well before the creeks and rivers start to rise.

The new normal may be here, but that’s no reason to just accept it. Let’s challenge it, as best we can, every step of the way.



editorial@accjournal.ca

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter