An owner of Chilliwack, British Columbia, says that he was informed that his house was unlivable and is worth nothing due to a risk of landslide.
During the atmospheric river in 2021, a slide came less than five meters from Chris Rampersad’s house, but did not reach it.
Rampersad told Global News that despite this, he was told that his property was evaluated at $ 2 and that he should move.
He said that no one in the government of British Columbia would provide him with financial assistance and that he still pays a mortgage home.
“What I think I’m going to lose is close to a million, 800 to a million dollars, which I still pay, and there is no asset there,” said Rampersad.
“I do not think I can sell this house due to the evaluated value of two dollars, as well as the high risk of death at home.”
Last summer, Rampersad said that the provincial government told him that he was not eligible for compensation or assistance.
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The regional district and Rampersad felt that the government was working on a solution, but said they had heard nothing.
“The only solution I see for them is to buy these properties, to delete (the) structures (and) to secure land to protect the road and the public,” said Rampersad.
Six properties in the region were estimated at $ 2.
“It breaks my heart that these people have to go through it,” said Patti Macahonic with the regional district of Fraser Valley.
She said responsibility is the responsibility of the British Columbia Government to help owners whose properties are deemed dangerous.
“They said they hang, there were patients, a solution arrives,” she said. “The regional district … This is not something we can do.”
However, Kelly Greene, Minister of Emergency Management in British Columbia, said the owners had to connect with the federal government in the regional district.
“Provincial programs do not cover the type of impact they have had for their properties,” she said.
Macahonic said that she had asked for another meeting with ministry staff and that Rampersad is now living part -time from Abbotsford.
He said that if the government does not intervene, he fears never being able to sell.
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