KENT – New Democrat MLA Kelli Paddon says the District of Kent and the Fraser Valley Regional District will benefit from nearly $4 million combined in new provincial funding to support recovery work. Kent is one of ten communities in B.C. that was severely impacted by the November 2021 floods.

“The floods and Landslides that hit us in the Fraser Valley in November turned many people’s lives upside down,” said Kelli Paddon, MLA for Chilliwack-Kent. “Building back better from these floods is a priority we share with the local governments in Kent and Chilliwack. This new investment will support our community directly by funding infrastructure planning in Chilliwack, pump station improvements in Kent, and some of the costs of raising Kamp road.”

The local governments of Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Cowichan Valley Regional District, Fraser Valley Regional District, Hope, Kent, Merritt, Mission, Princeton, and Thompson-Nicola Regional District are all receiving direct grants from the $53.6 million in provincial funding to assist them in meeting the additional pressures of on-going recovery and infrastructure planning.

In Kent, $2.355 million will help take care of initial flood recovery costs not covered by other assistance programs, including works to raise Kamp road and improvements to a pump station, flood gates and plans for floop mapping. Additionally, the Fraser Valley Regional District will receive $1.625 million dollars to assist with initial recovery costs, including debris clean-up, bank stabalization and addressing infrastructure damaged by flooding.

This funding is in addition to the more than $2.1 billion Budget 2022 provides to help people recover from the floods and wildfires of last year and to better protect communities against future climate disasters. As well as the $228 million in federal-provincial funding provided to B.C. farmers who suffered extraordinary damages during the November floods.

Learn More: https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2022MUNI0016-000582

For more information on Canadian Red Cross services and how to access them, call 1 800 863-6582, between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. (Pacific time), or visit: https://www.redcross.ca/how-we-help/current-emergency-responses/2021-british-columbia-floods-and-extreme-weather

British Columbians can access the Disaster Financial Assistance application online: http://www.gov.bc.ca/disasterfinancialassistance