Communities on flood alert

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These days, talk of sand bags, emergency phone numbers, food rations and keeping a close ear to the radio are hot topics of conversation in Mission, B.C, and other communities close to the Fraser River.

"The flood potential for the Fraser River is the highest it's been in 25 years, so the water levels are being monitored," said Darlene Snyder, media and communications officer of the emergency program of government assistance in B.C. "Every year there is an emergency plan in place, but this year it is different because it hasn't really warmed up. It's been cool so the concern is, if it does warm up, the snow packs in the mountains will melt quickly," said Snyder.

"The friendship centre is aware of the flood warning. We have a sign posted up on the wall that the centre will billet people here should the river flood," said Rose Whiskeyjack, receptionist at the Mission centre.

Twenty-five reserves, including the Cheam, Scowlitz, Kwantlen, Seabird, and Matsqui, are all located close to the river. The Fraser River, which runs through British Columbia's lower mainland, is 585 kms in length from the mountains to the coast.

"We are keeping a close eye on any communities south of Prince George, and the largest river in the area is the Fraser," said Neil Banera, of the province's Environment, Lands and Parks department.

"We have an operation set up that gives snow pack readings, so we are watching the readings closely. It all depends on the weather. If it stays cool then we do not have to worry about the melt, but a sudden temperature change could start the melt of the snow," he said.

"We just had a meeting, and it was in preparation to the flood of the area," said Chief Alice Mckay of the Matsqui Band. "We have to make sure that the back hoe is in good running order so that we will be able to use it to fill our sand bags if we have to. We also have an emergency phone number available for the reserve people to call and a family member has been selected to alert the family when the water and evacuation starts to happen."

The band is also keeping in contact with the Abbotsford police and are planning to meet with them so that, together, a plan can be formulated, the chief said.