Floods & Landslides

• Flooding and Your Health (HealthLink BC) - Information to learn about flooding, preparing for an emergency, food and water safety, evacuation information, and more (translated content available)
• Flood Preparedness Guide (gov.bc.ca) - A fillable guide for preparing your family and home for flood response 

• For information on evacuation alerts and orders in BC, or to find a reception centre, visit EmergencyInfoBC or call the provincial Emergency Services Support line at 1-800-585-9559 
  • Self-register for Emergency Support Services (ESS)
  • Find an emergency and disaster services in your area (Red Cross)
• Community evacuation information for seniors (HealthLink BC) - Preparing for and responding to hazards requires special consideration of seniors’ needs. Seniors who live alone or are sick or disabled will need special support and an emergency plan (translated content available)
• Learn more about What to do during a power outage (Get Prepared)

• Flood clean up (gov.bc.ca) - Managing mould risks, claiming insurance, psychological care
• Clean-up After a Flood (HealthLink BC) - Information document outlining key health hazards associated with a flood along with information on when it is safe to return home and how to prepare to return home after a flood (translated content available)
• Flood zones are danger zones (bccdc.ca) - Types of contamination to be aware of
• Flood zones are danger zones: poster (ncceh.ca) - Poster showing contamination risks related to floods 
• Disaster financial assistance (gov.bc.ca) - Provides information and links to available Disaster Financial Assistance (DFA) for uninsurable events such as overland flooding or landslides​​​​​​
• Disaster recovery information for the public (gov.bc.ca) - Food and water safety, cleaning and repairs, claiming insurance, psychological care

• Flood Cleanup and Mould Prevention (cmhc-schl.gc.ca) - Information sheet outlining mould prevention and cleanup methods
• Mould Cleanup at a Glance (cmhc-schl.gc.ca) - Poster on mould conditions in a home and how to clean them 
• Indoor Air Quality: Mould and Other Biological Contaminants (HealthLink BC) - What are moulds, how to know if your house has mould, how to clean up and prevent mould (translated content available)

Floods and other disasters can damage drinking water wells and lead to groundwater and well contamination. Floodwater can contaminate well water with livestock waste, human sewage, chemicals, and other contaminants that can lead to illness when used for drinking, bathing, and other hygiene activities. Dug wells, bored wells, and other wells less than 50 feet deep are more likely to be contaminated, even if damage is not apparent (source CDC).

Get information for drinking water operators 

Never use flood water or contaminated drinking water for drinking, preparation of baby food, personal hygiene (e.g., washing or brushing teeth) or washing dishes or surfaces you prepare food on.

View our drinking water page for information on sample results, advisories and private water systems. 

• If your water comes from a community water system, see if your water system is on an advisory
• If you are on your own water source (well, surface water) the following pages provide helpful information on making sure your water is safe to use:
  • Disinfecting Drinking Water (HealthLink BC)
  • Water Well Disinfection (gov.bc.ca) - How to disinfect your well with a simple chlorination method
  • Well water testing (HealthLink BC) - What to test for in your well water and how to get your well water tested
  • Labs available for testing drinking water (phsa.ca) - List of labs approved by the public health authority officer for drinking water microbiology testing
     

• Food Safety During Flood Disasters (HealthLink BC) - How to evaluate the safety of food in your home, safe baby formular preparation  
• Food safety after a flood - Precautions and actions that should be taken after a flood to ensure that food is safe to eat, including information on foods that should be destroyed and what may be salvaged
• If your refrigerator or freezer is damaged and is not working (cannot maintain less than 4 degrees and is not cleanable), contact the insurance company about coverage as an eligible expense, and your band or local government about its safe disposal.  
• If your refrigerator or freezer was NOT damaged and continues to work, take additional steps to clean your refrigerator and freezer.

Get information for food premises operators

All flood water should be considered contaminated.

• Frequently Asked Questions – Sewage Contaminated Flood Waters

Your on-site sewage disposal system may become unsafe to use if it is impacted directly by floods, damaged by heavy equipment or machinery, or had power outages. 

• Sewage systems and flooding outlines safety, sanitation and clean up of sewage systems before, during and after flooding

If you find your sewage system was at risk of being impacted by floods or landslides or is not operating as intended (household plumbing is slow to drain, smells or pooling on the field area, etc.) then you should contact an authorized person to assess your system to ensure it is safe for use. 

Visit Sewerage, Subdivisions & Healthier Industries to find more info on how to find an authorized person who can inspect and/or repair an onsite sewerage system, or to locate your on-Site sewage record

• Signs of Stress (HealthLink BC)
• Crisis lines are available to listen and help at any time. You can contact: 
  • BC Mental Health Support Line, available 24 hours a day at 310-6789 (no area code)
  • KUU-US Indigenous Crisis Line at 1-800-588-8717

Any water systems in the Interior Region that experience disruption to regular operations, such as loss of treatment, loss of pressure, loss of power, loss of source or loss of system integrity should implement their emergency response procedures immediately. This includes issuing public notifications such as boil water notices, water quality advisories or do not use orders, as appropriate. 

Follow your emergency response plan.

• Prior to resuming normal operations, water suppliers should undertake remedial actions such as flushing, disinfection and resampling as required. Contact your environmental health officer (EHO) for support
• Information for water suppliers impacted by emergency events - Procedures for returning to normal operations after an emergency event, including additional resources for homeowners and operators of facilities (Appendix A)
   

The following documents provide information that may assist food service operators address, remediate and manage operations to ensure public health safety, during and after wildfire events:

Follow your emergency response plan.

Food Safety

• Power outages at food facilities - Food safety considerations for operators after a power outage (e.g., following a flood/landslide event and power shutdown/evacuation)
• Flood information for food premises - Information for food premises to help prepare for the potential impacts when a flood is imminent, and when re-entering premises and cleaning up to resume normal operations
• Contact your environmental health officer (EHO) if you have any questions

Water Quality 

• Drinking Water Public Notifications What Food Premises Operators Need To Know - General information on drinking water notifications and food preparation and service. Floods and landslides will often result in public water advisories
• If you are on a community water system, see if your water system is on an advisory
• If you are not served by a community water system, contact your environmental health officer (EHO) for information on water sampling, well disinfection and other steps to make sure your water is safe for use    
  • Water Well Disinfection (gov.bc.ca) - How to disinfect your well with a simple chlorination method
  • Well water testing (HealthLink BC) - What to test for in your well water and how to get your well water tested
  • Labs available for testing drinking water (phsa.ca) - List of labs approved by Provincial Health Officer for drinking water microbiology testing

Waste Disposal

If your business has an on-site sewage disposal system, it may become unsafe to use if it is impacted directly by floods, landslides, damaged by heavy equipment or machinery, or had power outages. 

If you find your sewage system was at risk of being impacted by floods or landslides or is not operating as intended (plumbing is slow to drain, smells or pooling on the field area, etc.) then you should contact an authorized person to assess your system to ensure it is safe for use. 

• Sewerage, Subdivisions & Healthier Industries provides information on how to find an authorized person who can inspect and/or repair an onsite sewerage system, or to locate your on-site sewage record

The following documents provides information to assist community care homes and child care operators address, remediate, and manage operations to ensure safety of persons in care and employees, during and after wildfire events:

Follow your emergency response plan.

Find information on drinking water, food safety and waste disposal

• Contact Licensing Direct if you have questions for your Licensing Officer via telephone at: 1-877-980-5118 or via email at LicensingDirect@interiorhealth.ca 

Care for clients 

• Caring for seniors in long-term care in an emergency (HealthLink BC) - Preparing for and responding to hazards requires consideration of the needs of seniors, especially those in long-term care facilities