Kristen Villebrun and Wendy Bush hoped they wouldn't have to pray for Chedoke Creek, but four years after they first raised alarm about the water's condition, they were part of an Indigenous full moon ceremony to do just that. About 50 people showed up near Princess Point on the dark and frigid Monday evening for the monthly ceremony, which was particularly special as it focused on Chedoke Creek. The body of water that runs into Cootes Paradise had about 24 billion litres of sewage and storm water runoff leak into it due to a gate being left open.
Communities along the Red River in Manitoba are bracing for another major flood this spring, even as some still have not finished repairing damage from last year's high water event. The Rural Municipality of Montcalm, which surrounds southern Manitoba communities like Letellier and St. Jean Baptiste, still has about $10 million to $15 million worth of repairs left to make, said Reeve Paul Gilmore.
Every year, Lower Mainland residents prepare for the Big One. The region is located near the Cascadia subduction zone, and it’s only a matter of time before a megathrust earthquake hits. During the annual Oct. 20 ShakeOut event in southwest B.C., school kids practice diving under desks. People ready their workplaces with emergency kits and evacuation plans. But there’s another type of disaster that we’re reminded about less often: a major flood.
