Re: From fires to floods
 

The makeshift dam that they built overnight has so far prevented water from breaching the pump station so that is good for now.

RV dealership in Abbotsford is on fire, some concern about the high voltage powerlines above said fire.

BC Government this morning approved to have Canadian Forces come and assist with flood efforts and supply chain issues.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/british...1a393a2a66.jpg

Re: From fires to floods
 

That's a great photo. Thousands of cars that were submerged are going to be totalled and probably parted out. I wonder how long it's going to be until the highway is bare again? Being submerged for an extended period can't be good for the roadbed/foundation. I imagine a lot of the Newfoundlanders who were laid off from the oil patch are on the phone lining up road construction jobs.

Re: From fires to floods
 

The government has no timeline for Hwy 1 or the Coq, they are hoping to have Hwy 3 *fingers crossed* hopefully as early as end of weekend and Hwy 7, so if they can get Hwy 3 and 7 open by end of the weekend, it will be slow going but at least get things moving again, I don't think there is a timeline for the closed northern portions of highway 99 yet either, but 3 & 7 are the least damaged so they are priortizing those 2.

Good news is the Nooksack River is receding, should be below flood level by sometime today, so that will help, and yes I know its a US river but it contributed to the flooding as water doesn't care about international borders.

How does flood insurance work in Canada, is it something normally covered?

Re: From fires to floods
 

Available but not usual. I wouldn't like to guess at the premium for flood coverage in a flood plain.

Re: From fires to floods
 

If they don't call that the Nutsack River I'll eat my shirt.

Re: From fires to floods
 

Thanks, sounds a bit like earthquake insurance in California, its obtainable, but premiums and deductibles so high, most don't take it, only something like 13% of homeowners in California have quake insurance.

Re: From fires to floods
 

Until recently one could not buy overland flood insurance in Canada at all. It is now available in some areas, depends on your post codes. In a flood plain, no chance. We can get earthquake cover though.
Farmers can get flood cover for livestock and movable equipment, but not buildings.
Where coverage is not available, the province will kick in up to $350k. If coverage was available and you chose not to get it, province won't give a dime.

Re: From fires to floods
 

Yes, I worked on the computer system to support the first product to market in that niche. The records on which to base the rates were very sparse so, on the initial implementation, hourly rate changes were supported. It was more like a sports book than an insurance system, with the rate shifting according to where the money was going. Some premiums were enormous, as much as insuring a car in Nunavut. Now, of course, 10 year, 50 year, 100 year stats are available for any lat and long in Canada by a call to a web application, that's precise enough that it's usual to rate the house, garage and barn differently even though they're on the same lot. There are multiple carriers in many locations and so competitive rates. There's claims history and reinsurance treaties are now available so things are progressing.

There are a few places where it's not possible to buy coverage, High River AB is one, even though it was the High River floods that prompted introduction of the coverage. Much of NS is also uninsurable. For reasons unknown to me tenants can't buy coverage for a property that's insurable by the owner. Government compensation schemes affect the ability to buy coverage and what will be paid on claims. There are places in Qc where the government has said it's not safe to live and compensation won't be paid. Insurers will offer coverage in some of them but at eye watering rates. All in all, flood insurance in Canada is still quite new and what's offered varies widely by precise location.

Earthquake coverage is similar but better established. It's cheap in SK, not so much in BC.

Re: From fires to floods
 

Looking at our renters insurance which obviously doesn't coer the structure, just the tenants stuff and costs for like temporary housing.

Overland Flooding coverage is listed as excessive rain, overflowing rivers, spring runoff and melting snow. All flooding caused by saltwater, tides, tsunamis, waves, tidal waves, sewer, sump pump, interior floor drain or septic tank, is not covered.

However the sewage back up option which costs like 54 cents a month extra so we do have it covers sewer, sump pump, interior floor drain or septic tank.

Earthquake coverage is limited only to contents maximum $50,000 with 15% deductible.

Re: From fires to floods
 

The animal casualty on the farms will be high, even animals that were rescued are not arriving in best of shape, and there is a shortage of animal feed.

One woman's story about being swept 1km off the highway she was on when a mudslide occured.

Re: From fires to floods
 

Some evacuation orders have been lifted, but that water is still flowing up from the Nooksack. If those pumps last through this flood, that brand will be very popular, but I think an upgrade is in order. They might try to make it absolutely impervious to flooding, sealed up and with backup pumps and power. The scale of cost vs risk....
https://www.ctvnews.ca/climate-and-e...ency-1.5671242

Re: From fires to floods
 

I too discovered this recently although with Intact, the max was $25,000 also with a 15% deductible. Oddly Aviva give me $100,000 cover for all risks including earthquake but it costs $200 per year more than the Intact policy - around $1,000 v $800. This is for BC near Vancouver.

Re: From fires to floods
 

With the help of CN and Via Rail, Emergency Management BC was able to get a train to Hope to bring 150 people to Vancouver who have been stuck in Hope since Sunday.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/briti...hope-1.6253392

Abbotsford mayor say's dikes will take weeks to repair, while water is receding in the higher elevations of Sumas flats, the eastern lower end continues to fill with water, with 80-100mm more rain forecast Monday into Tuesday.

""We're still not pumping anywhere near the amount of water out of the system that is coming into the prairie from across the border," said Braun. "I'm still not sure people understand what's going on there."

Cost estimates from a few years ago to upgrade the dike systems was $400 million, the estimate cost to fix all the infrastructure in the city damaged or destroyed from the flooding could top $1 billion, mayor has been assured by Trudeau that the federal government will help.

Agriculture losses could top hundreds of millions of dollars from lost animals, equipment destroyed, fields destroyed.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/briti...ayor-1.6253800

May take weeks to begin to repair the main highways, engineers will need to determine if they can be rebuilt or if they need to be redesigned and geotechnical engineers will need to determine stability of the earth, winter will complicate things as freezing tempretures being to arrive for winter.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/briti...airs-1.6253636

Chilliwack has no dialysis unit some of the patients were flown to Abbotsford, one man interviewed needs dialysis 3 times a week, might be time Chilliwack gets upgraded healthcare and hospital as this is showing the eastern Fraser Valley has limited healthcare capability when cut off from Abbotsford which is also the regions primary cancer hospital as well.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/briti...wack-1.6253187

Gas sations in the eastern fraser valley are running out of fuel.

Re: From fires to floods
 

Drone footage of Highway 5



Aerial Survey of the area.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/british...51e64d2ff8.jpg

Re: From fires to floods
 

This graphic gives an idea of how the rivers flow and Sumas Lake bed.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/british...a4af1fc657.jpg


This one shows where the old lake was overlayed onto google maps, with the outline of the 1894 high water level line.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/british...6be7b71c7d.jpg