When considering the vulnerabilities of public safety and in the public interest we should not use the word “If” when it comes to planning.  We should use the word “When”   

I keep hearing there has never been flooding like this or a storm like this or closed roads like this.  Not exactly true but I agree the circumstances are different.  For Abotsford there was major flooding in 1990, before that flooding was a regular threat for decades until dyke and flood canals were built.  The Columbia River Dams were built for flood control after the big one in 1948.  The difference is it now inflicts misery on a wider number of people and different living conditions.

We are not just witnessing a local flooding event from a storm.

We are witnessing what happens when we neglect reality in everything from the environment to social planning of our infrastructure to our system of a commercial supply chain.

There is one other change in society that has served to really complicate things.  I will get to that in a moment but first lets talk about how unprepared we are even for our preparations for a major earthquake we all believe is a mater of time away,

The Lower Mainland is under water yes, but we have cities and towns in the interior flooded cut off by highway closures and

evacuated for lack of water, power and even natural gas.  We have water treatment facilities that were not on high enough ground to escape being inundated with flood waters.

We have a local and world wide supply chain that is totally out of sync with our needs.  We moved factories to the third world for cheap labor we ran on low inventory stock supplies to save money.  The belief was there would never be a big enough problem to effect the system world wide and regional problems  would be offset by cheap goods.  We neglected the environment, human dignity and in many cases we looked away when it came to human rights when it came to producing cheaper running shoes etc.  The real value added costs are now rearing their ugly head.

We have supply disruptions from a series of problems, the pandemic, the closure of plants, the shipping problems from foreign destinations and now highway and rail infrastructure problems.  Even those with access to food and consumer goods can’t get them readily to market. 

What is available is subject to panic buying without reasonable cause. In the midst of this society is looking to blame everyone but themselves.  For years I have heard many say government should stay out of our lives and mind its own business.  In the last while, this summer during the fires and today with floods these same people are demanding government action.  

It’s said government did not declare an emergency soon enough.  First we are dealing with wide spread flooding in cities, and rural roads and infrastructure facilities.  They have to know the real size of the problem to determine the size of the solution.  Emergency Crews were already operating on scene.

Some months ago I wrote an article about the lack of local community involvement through service clubs and volunteer groups at the local level.  When there is no one there to help it shows.  Local coordination assists in measuring need for faster response and when it’s not there the most vulnerable suffer the most, while the inconvenienced complain.

I think it’s time communities and as individuals we did some soul searching.  It’s time to stop complaining and participate in reviving community service because the problems of the world around us are not going away and governments local or senior levels can’t do everything. 

Fred Steele