Over 2.3 billion dollars worth of buildings and roughly 94-hundred people are exposed to a potential landslide in Prince George.
That’s according to the Collaborative Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Adaptation project being undertaken by the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George, the city, Lheidli T’enneh and other surrounding areas.
“Landslides are more about a location where landslides might originate where there are steeper slopes. That is where you would see more of a landslide with the shading and potential of being exposed.” said Kenna Jonkman, RDFFG General Manager of Community and Development Services.
Jonkman explained what areas could be susceptible to flooding or landslides in our city.
“You see some shading along the Fraser (River) and the Nechako (River). And, for landslides, you do see portions of the Hart area as shaded along with University Hill.”
The hazard exposure data was released on Wednesday.
In addition, roughly 36-hundred people, 56km of road and 760-million dollars worth of buildings in low-lying areas of Prince George could bet at risk of periodic flooding.
Jonkman added figures like this help determine the best courses of action regarding new infrastructure projects.
“That factors into things that we do on a regular basis for development such as subdivisions and the construction of buildings and other infrastructure. It is very useful to have this information when we are evaluating those projects.”
“We want to understand the risks for our communities and be able to be more prepared to respond to those types of emergencies if they were to ever happen.”
Other areas that participated in the exercise and also have community fact sheets online are the Village of Valemount, District of Mackenzie, Village of McBride, McLeod Lake Indian Band as well as Regional District Electoral Areas A through H.
The first phase of the project began in the fall of 2023 with the second phase identifying policy options to address the risks of climate-related natural disasters to conclude at the end of 2026.
The Fraser Basin Council served as a coordinator for the project.
A link to all community fact sheets can be found here.
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