Boundary Flood Resilience Centre opens Saturday
By Boundary Sentinel
In a media release Thursday, the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary said it is launching its Boundary Flood Resilience Centre to help all victims of the 2018 catastrophic floods in the Boundary region.
The release said the Resilience Centre will open at the Grand Forks Curling Rink on Saturday, May 26th at 9 a.m. as the Red Cross and EOC marks the event with a community pancake breakfast at the Curling Rink starting at 8 a.m.
“We are just now beginning the recovery process in our communities across the Boundary region,” said Roly Russell, RDKB board chair. “The RDKB is developing a recovery plan that will address flood recovery holistically, including built infrastructure as well as the more complex environmental, social and economic impacts of this disaster.”
The RDKB has assembled more than twenty different agencies under one roof to answer flood victims’ questions and provide assistance on a range of important topics including Disaster Financial Assistance (DFA), psycho-social support services, possession recovery, water testing, flood clean-up, waste disposal, home insurance and electrical safety.
The centre is intended to be a focal point for the community where impacted residents can connect with all those services and agencies they need to help them in the complex recovery process over the coming months and year.
“We are a strong community and we are a resilient community. We will come together and recover,” said Grand Forks Mayor Frank Konrad.
Representatives from the Red Cross will continue to support people in the community as they have in the Reception Centre they staffed for the duration of the flood emergency. Provincial representatives from DFA will be available to help residents fill out applications for assistance and other community representatives will be on site to direct flood victims to sources of additional funding. Water sampling kits for those on private water systems are also stocked on site.
“In many ways, fixing the buildings is the easy part of this recovery process. It will take a lot of work and the support of community and mental health resources to address the impacts we can’t see – the emotional, social and psychological well-being of all of us,” said Russell.
