The Editor,
Re: "Storm surge spares city," News, Dec. 19
King tides and storm surges over the past few days should again serve as a wake-up call as to the flood predicament many of our low-laying Metro Vancouver urban areas are in.
Over the years we have watched expensive housing developments being approved and built behind low dikes in West Vancouver, north arm parts of Vancouver, Richmond, Delta and Surrey despite warnings of storm surges and sea level rise.
Presently, hikers along the network of river trails in Vancouver have to detour around flooded areas of the riverside dike trails during very high tides!
Even small bridge decks are under water during 16-foot tides combined with winter storm-surge events.
The problem will get worse as science experts and climate models indicate sea level rise is well underway and the intensity of winter storms will increase.
We see high water levels right to the top of many existing dikes with little or no free board and that results in flood damage.
Parts of old 1870-built dikes still exist on the Vancouver North Arm of the Fraser River shoreline and, with little diking upgrades over the many years, are a disaster waiting to happen!
In some places pumps and large collection ditches are the only protection today for behind the dike flooding and that assumes we will always have a stable supply of electricity to keep the pumps going.
Protection in these low-lying river and ocean front areas seem to be a case of wishful thinking - hoping that the big tides combined with extreme weather events never happens.
What then happens if a giant seimic event occurs at the same time of the year?
Governments often pretend that all is under control and we just have to be proactive. However, sand bags are no longer an option.
In that flood proofing is to cost billions of dollars, have the local governments adequately pushed the Harper government to address the root cause of this problem - global warming?
Why allow the mining of vast quantities of fossil fuels to speed up global warming and sea level rise when we in the Metro Vancouver area will be a major victim of sea level rise?
Maybe those promoting the export of giant quantities of coal, gas and oil to Asia such as Port Metro Vancouver, Enbridge and Kinder Morgan should pay a surcharge on their fossil fuel exports to help us address the costs of building ever higher dikes.
Why should Canadians suffer the consquences and costs associated with those that profit grealty by the exploitation, export and burning of our fossil fuel resources?
Terry Slack Vancouver Otto E. Langer Richmond
