Image: Patti MacAhonic, GoFundMe / An elected official in Chilliwack has initiated a GoFundMe online fundraiser to support Chilliwack River Valley homeowners who were impacted by the atmospheric flooding events of 2021, but apparently had their requests for government assistance denied.

By Mike Vanden Bosch

Disaster Financial Assistance

Govt. denies aid request from Chilliwack homeowners impacted by flooding in 2021

Oct 8, 2024 | 10:47 AM

CHILLIWACK — In an unusual turn of events, an elected official in Chilliwack has initiated a GoFundMe online fundraiser to support Chilliwack River Valley homeowners who were impacted by the atmospheric flooding events of 2021 but had their requests for government assistance denied.

According to the text of an online fundraiser, Patti MacAhonic, who represents Area E (Chilliwack River Valley) on the FVRD board, says six families suffered “crippling losses” from the atmospheric river events of 2021 in which they lost their homes due to slide damage or had their homes deemed uninhabitable. MacAhonic says programs like Disaster Financial Assistance (DFA) provide aid to homeowners who need them in times of crisis.

“These serious and life-changing climate events can happen to any of us, changing our lives in a blink of a second, leaving families such as our friends and neighbours in serious financial ruin,” MacAhonic wrote in her GoFundMe appeal.

MacAhonic says the families recently learned that their DFA requests were denied, meaning the families waited over two years only to receive terrible news.

“These hard-working friends and neighbours insurance was denied, and they waited for over 2 ½ years working in good faith with the province being told that solutions were being worked on,” MacAhonic said. “Imagine their shock when they recently found out that they were turned down for DFA and the government denied them any financial assistance. This has left them in dire straits, the mental and physical stress compounded by the total financial devastation is unconscionable, again, it could happen to any one of us!”

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MacAhonic says the homeowners involved still have mortgages to pay, not to mention a devaluation of their properties.

“With mortgages to pay, their houses deemed no value and the unaffordable housing market, they are stuck in an untenable nightmare situation,” she wrote. “Two of the houses are next to Chilliwack Lake Road, the only road in and out of the valley; the Geotech reports on those say that when (not if) the next slide comes, it will be 100 metres across and 30 metres high with the high likelihood of someone being killed. If it goes over the roadway which it will if it is that size, it will be another disaster with a potential loss of life, this is where our school buses travel and residents go to and from to work. No one is listening.”

MacAhonic says she has been advocating provincially and continues to do so, but it appears that the residents in the Chilliwack River Valley are not important enough for provincial authorities to consider.

“The community of the Chilliwack River Valley is banding together to come to these good folk’s aid and really need your help!” MacAhonic said. “If you can find it in your heart to help these good folks, it would be greatly appreciated as they try to navigate next steps after being declined help by the province. Any amount you decide to donate will be very much appreciated and will make a truly make a difference in the lives of our neighbors whose lives have been upended. Funds will be used to seek legal advice on how to move forward and any surplus will be distributed between families who have been incurring much expense due to this tragic situation. Thank you in advance for your kind help.”