Tuesday - Nov. 7, 2023 - Better prepared. But not protected.

🌦 High 9C

Good morning!

That was some sort of rainstorm we saw over the weekend, eh? After 2021, lots of people remain on edge, I know. But these bad rainstorms are a good reminder that the valley has the ability to soak up a huge amount of rain before something bad actually happens. What we saw in 2021 was a very rare event. It’s not likely to happen again soon.

But that’s the thing about preparedness (which is the subject of today’s main story). It’s the unlikely things that we tend to not prepare for. And something that is unlikely to happen on any one day becomes near-inevitable over a long enough time period. So obviously we need to be prepared, both as individuals and communities. But more than that, we need to stick with it and not get distracted. Fear isn’t helpful. But neither is ignorance.

– Tyler

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Traffic & Weather

🌤 Local forecast: Langley | Chilliwack | Abbotsford | Hope

🚘 Driving today? Check the current traffic situation via Google, and find DriveBC’s latest updates.

🛣 Click here for links to road cameras across the Fraser Valley, including those for the Coquihalla, Highway 7, Hope-Princeton, Fraser Canyon, and Highway 1 in Langley and Abbotsford.

NEWS

More aware. Better prepared. But still vulnerable.

Two years after 2021’s devastating floods and landslides, the region is better prepared for a future event. But it’s not prepared enough.

In recent months, FVC readers have questioned whether our region is just as vulnerable as in 2021. This month, The Current is going to try to answer those questions, using public documents, responses from governments, and our own eyes.

In three stories this week, we’ll focus on the Nooksack River and Sumas Prairie—the site of one of Canada’s most-expensive natural disasters.

We’ve catalogued the work that has been done the last 24 months, the projects that are planned and proposed but not yet funded, and the governmental and climactic uncertainties that complicate the situation. We will be publishing three separate stories in The Current’s daily newsletter.

• Today, we are looking at the ways in which Sumas Prairie is better prepared and protected than two years ago—even if some protections in the United States are unlikely to ever happen. Tomorrow, we will examine all the work that must still be done. And Friday, we will consider the state of Sumas Prairie as a whole.

• Members: You can read all three parts in a single story today. Just check out the link immediately below this section. Become a member today to read the story.

Related

• MEMBERS ONLY: Current Insider members can read all three parts in a single story here. 

Need to Know

👉 The future of the Aldergrove Fair will be decided next week; the fair needs more volunteer directors [Aldergrove Star]

🚑 Another inmate has died at Mountain Institution outside of Kent [Agassiz-Harrison Observer]

🚔 A gun (that turned out to be a toy) seen in a car on Highway 1 led to two arrests in Abbotsford [CityNews]

👉 A Chilliwack naturopath has lost his licence for promoting fecal transplants for children with autism [CBC]

🚧 A narrow five-storey apartment building has been proposed for Alexander Avenue in Chilliwack [Fraser Valley Today]

🗺 Abbotsford’s school catchment boundaries are likely to change soon [Abbotsford News]

🐤 Dozens of birds have been found dead in Sardis Park in Chilliwack [Chilliwack Progress]

🏫 Chilliwack’s school board will meet online, not in person, to avoid disruptions by protesters; The Abbotsford School Board is doing the same [Chilliwack Progress/Abbotsford News]

🐔 Avian flu has been discovered at two more poultry farms—one in Langley, and another in Abbotsford [FarmNewsNow]

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The Agenda

Work on new Dewdney Bridge to start this fall

Crews will start work on a new bridge on Highway 7 in Dewdney, near Mission, this fall. Construction is expected to last unti 2026.

The project will replace the old Dewdney Bridge with a higher, less flood-prone construction and include new intersections on either side of the Nicomen Slough, an arm of the Fraser River. The old bridge, built in 1958, is nearing the end of its life but will remain open during construction of the new bridge upstream. Drivers on Highway 7 can expect minor delays.

The new bridge will cost $32.6 million and hold two lanes of traffic and a three-metre-wide lane for cyclists and pedestrians.

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🗓 Things to do

Wedding dancing: Bez Arts Hub in Langley hosts My Cousin’s Wedding—a wedding-inspired dance with DJ Simon Bridgefoot Nov. 10 at 6:30pm. Details online.

Glorious Sons: The Glorious Sons perform at the Abbotsford Centre Nov. 10. Tickets are still available online.

Mozart: Fraser Valley Symphony celebrates its 40th anniversary season with Mozart and Mendelssohn featuring soloist David Gillham on violin Nov. 12 at Matsqui Centennial Auditorium. Tickets online.

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Catch up

That’s it!

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