Just a few Princeton households have been able to move back in out of the 300 that were damaged during the extreme flooding in November. There is an exasperated plea for help from residents in the community as the months pass by without answers on what is coming.
Danie Brooks and his sister Dian have been living over 50 kilometres away from their home since it was flooded in the fall.
Repairs are slowly moving forward thanks to the Mennonite Disaster Service, but their insurance won’t cover the damages and they’re desperately waiting on the promised financial support.
The two shared frustrations with a lack of answers from any government or government service.
Currently, the town of Princeton and the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen are waiting on answers from the provincial government, which is in turn waiting to have a conversation with the federal government to get funding going.
Funding delegations are at a stand still until the two jurisdictions meet.
Back in November, the Brooks were trapped in their house upstairs for two days without food or water when the floods hit, mucky water rushing in their main floor.
They were finally brought off of their farm on Highway 3 by a Search and Rescue boat, being pulled out of their top floor window.
Four dogs, two horses, three cats and a turtle were rescued as well, spread out to friends and family as the pair got settled in a motel in Tulameen.
The floors, walls and insulation have all since been ripped up after the ruined furniture was cleared out, with fans and humidifiers spread out throughout the home. Hopefully, they will work well enough to dry out the home and allow for it to be rebuilt.
That’s if mold doesn't grow and the house is in good enough condition.
“What we are still waiting on, on this first day of March, is any solid information from any level of our government to say ‘Alright, this is what we're going to do for you’ and spell it out. Nothing yet,” Danie explained.
“Where is our government when this is happening to us? Abbotsford? Chilliwack. The prairies. Yes, those people matter. Princeton is just a spot on the road.”
At this time, it’s the evacuees' and Mayor Spencer Coyne’s understanding that help from emergency services, which is being looked after by the Canadian Red Cross, ends at the end of March.
“There's lots of frustration, especially right now with the accommodation situation. Accommodations are apparently going to end at the end of March now. They were originally scheduled to end February 15. I caused some headaches and they extended that to the end of March. We haven't heard of any further extensions at this point,” Coyne said.
But on Tuesday, the organization clarified that help for evacuees with interim housing will continue.
“The Red Cross is working closely with accommodation providers to provide support to people who are unable to re-enter their homes after the flooding with financial support to help cover their accommodations and basic needs while they transition to longer-term housing,” their statement reads.
Financial contributions will continue to help with the cost of commercial accommodations past March 31 for individuals and families impacted by the floods to allow for the time they need to find longer-term housing options that meet their needs.
Their case management team will continue working with people that may need additional personalized support for those who are not yet able to find alternatives to their current accommodations.
“Recovery looks different for every community and individual and the Red Cross will continue to work on a case-by-case basis with impacted people to ensure personalized supports are available as needed, with a similar approach to the 2021 BC Wildfires.”
While the emergency support continues, there’s still a fatigue in trying to rebuild the homes.
“Princeton is small potatoes on a world scale. There could be a nuclear blast anytime of day that is going to wipe us all out. If that happens, I want to be in my own home when it happens. I don't want to be living in a motel,” Danie said.
“People are slowly getting to move back into their homes, but not as fast as everybody would like of course,” Coyne added. “We have 60 building applications out right now just to deal with flooding. So that's what's working. And then there's of course the apartment buildings that are still in total disarray.”
Dian said that another area of frustration is the lack of coordinated efforts.
“They're flying by the seat of their pants, because this is a massive disaster that nobody foresaw…. I wanted answers and I'm not getting them,” she said.
“We have been in there, we have been doing cleanup, we have been doing as much salvaging as we possibly can. We've worked hard all of our lives, to get where we're at. And we've lost everything. And the government doesn't care.”
While the town can move forward with some infrastructure and road repairs, areas outside of the boundary, which is governed by the RDOS, have to wait on provincial approvals.
“The Regional District team is working just as hard as we are, they just have more barriers in their way, if anything. For example, the dikes don't belong to the Regional District, they belong to the province. They call them orphan dikes, because nobody takes responsibility for them. That needs to come from some ministry that needs to pay for that, ”Coyne said.
There continues to be frustration on silence from the federal government.
“It shouldn't have to come to this. There should be people that are saying, 'Alright this is what I'm supposed to be doing. I'm getting paid to look after this part of the emergency services problem.' And it's not happening," Danie said.
The federal government has promised $5 billion to B.C. for flood relief, with the town trying to secure a commitment for $2 million to pay for their portion of $10 million in Disaster Financial Assistance.
“There is no relationship with the federal government. As far as I'm concerned,” Coyne said.
He commented that Princeton's Member of Parliament Dan Albas, along with South Okanagan-West Kootenay MP Richard Cannings and Boundary-Similkameen MLA Roly Russell, continue to pressure the governments for help for Princeton, Coalmont, Tulameen and the rest of the Similkameen residents affected.
Ten per cent of Princeton’s population remains displaced.
“I mean, if this was 10 per cent of Vancouver, 10 per cent of Richmond or Surrey, I mean, people would be all over this,” the mayor said. “But because we're a small town and Merritt is a small city, we don't seem to catch the same attention that I think it deserves. 10 per cent of any municipality's population being displaced is a huge, huge issue. And it's a huge problem."
“I mean, how do you maintain your community if you don't have a community to maintain?”
Coyne reminds evacuated residents to head to the town’s facebook page or the Princeton Resiliency Center for help with applying for all available support resources.
