Disaster Response Charity Launches Operation to Assist FVRD with Flood Relief

Team Rubicon Canada, a veteran-led disaster response charity, has landed in the Fraser Valley. The team of highly skilled disaster response experts are assisting the Fraser Valley Regional District (FVRD) with damage assessments and disaster mapping following the recent atmospheric river-related flooding and landslides.

Team Rubicon Canada received a Request for Assistance on November 20 from FVRD to provide urgent assistance with incident stabilization, damage assessments, and disaster mapping. The team, which is led by veterans of the military, emergency services as well as skilled civilians, will work with local authorities and residents.

The first priority for Team Rubicon Canada is to travel to areas in the Regional District under Evacuation Orders. 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. Information gathered from these assessments is being provided to the FVRD’s Emergency Operations Centre.

“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.”

It is anticipated that when the Regional District shifts from a response phase into a recovery phase after the storms, the team will work with first responders and skilled emergency management volunteers to deploy to help clean out flooded homes and remove debris in affected communities in the electoral areas.

“We are grateful for the assistance from Team Rubicon Canada,” said Jason Lum, Chair of the Fraser Valley Regional District. “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. Team Rubicon will help FVRD’s Emergency Operation Centre to better understand the impact the flood waters and landslides have had on our communities.”   

The scale and impact of this storm and the flooding has been enormous in the Fraser Valley. Team Rubicon Canada volunteers have stepped up to answer the call to serve in the province once again to provide some relief, after helping residents in Lytton B.C. recover from the summer 2021 wildfires.

To help support Team Rubicon Canada by donating or volunteering, visit Team-Rubicon.ca.

About Team Rubicon
Team Rubicon Canada serves communities by mobilizing veterans to continue their service by leveraging their skills and experience to help people prepare, respond, and recover from disasters and humanitarian crises. Team Rubicon was founded in 2010 following the Haiti earthquake, and subsequently established 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. Visit www.team-rubicon.ca for more information.

 

Media Contact for Team Rubicon Canada
Helen Lialias, Marketing Communications Manager
Helen.Lialias@teamrubicon.ca

Media Contact for Fraser Valley Regional District
Angelique Crowther, Manager of Communications
acrowther@fvrd.ca