Team Rubicon Canada, a disaster response charity, has arrived to help flooded-out residents of the Fraser Valley Regional District (FVRD) as flood response shifts to recovery.
The veteran-led disaster experts touched down in the flood-ravaged Fraser Valley last week in response to a direct plea for help issued by FVRD on Nov. 20.
“We are grateful for the assistance from Team Rubicon Canada,” said FVRD chair Jason Lum. “They have the expertise and specialized equipment to quickly assess damage to properties and put together a plan to help residents remove debris and muck from their homes when it’s safe.”
Members of Team Rubicon were helping at the Leisure Valley Estates on Columbia Valley Road on Nov. 24, 2021, and are working with FVRD Emergency Operation Centre officials to mitigate the impacts of catastrophic flooding and landslides on communities.
“The recent storms dropped devastating amounts of rain across Southern B.C., leaving many communities severely flooded, and families displaced,” said Bryan Riddell, CEO of Team Rubicon Canada. “Our veteran-led teams of volunteers are ready to put their disaster response skills to work to help impacted areas in the Fraser Valley stabilize and recover as quickly as possible.”
They are helping with incident stabilization, damage assessments, and disaster mapping.
”Residents have evacuated from these areas for their safety and Team Rubicon Canada will take all safety precautions when entering the communities to conduct Rapid Damage Assessments on buildings and structures.”
The volunteers also helped Lytton residents after the devastating fires.
Team Rubicon was founded in 2010 following the Haiti earthquake, and subsequently established Team Rubicon Canada in Canada in 2016. Since then both organizations have grown membership across North America, now boasting over 140,000 volunteers collectively, deploying at home and abroad. Amidst the COVID-19 outbreak, Team Rubicon has not only pivoted to be able to continue to deliver disaster response and rebuild services in core mission areas but has also expanded their scope of missions to meet community needs brought about by COVID. www.team-rubicon.ca
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B.C. Floods 2021BC FloodFraser Valley Regional DistrictSevere weather
