A map that shows areas most at risk of flooding from the Oyster River will be getting its first update in four decades, thanks to funding from the Union of B.C. Municipalities.
The last model was done by the B.C. Water Management Branch in 1984, but the riverbed has since shifted and the model and map are no longer valid, says the Strathcona Regional District.
The Oyster River, which meets the ocean between Comox/Courtenay and Campbell River, has a history of seasonal flooding. A dike built in 1992 to protect the community was upgraded in 2019 due to increased flooding in the area.
The district, in partnership with Campbell River, Nuchatlaht First Nation, Tahsis and Zeballos, received about $400,000 from UBCM’s disaster risk reduction and climate adaptation grant to fund a number of improvements in the area, including the flood plain modelling update.
The district says the new floodplain map will improve emergency planning and help manage flood risk, as well as guiding a proposed floodplain hazard development permit area for Electoral Area D.
Money from the grant will also go toward watershed and ecosystem restoration work, public-engagement sessions about regional hazards and risks, and public art to be placed near tsunami evacuation signs in Ocluje, Tahsis, Zeballos, and Walters Island near Kyuquot.
