Bedford Basin MLA Kelly Regan is calling on the Houston government to provide

additional support to those who are at risk of flooding.

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Regan has called on the government to purchase the homes of those who live on

floodplains and who experienced severe flooding this summer.

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“Some residents barely escaped from their homes on the night of July 21st — they waded

out into chest-high water,” said Regan. “This is a safety issue. Many of these homes

have flooded before — but never like this. With climate change, they will flood again.

Telling people to rebuild ignores the very real threat to many of our residents.”

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Regan has met with many residents in the Union Street area of Bedford, some of whom

continue to pay mortgages on homes they cannot occupy due to severe damage.

“In addition to the very real possibility that this may happen again, these folks are paying

mortgages on houses they cannot live in. There was major damage to many of these

homes.”

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After similar devastating floods in Sydney in 2016, the previous government gave severely

impacted households the opportunity to sell their homes to the province.

“Right now, these folks are traumatized by what they’ve lived through. Their biggest asset

— their home — has been severely damaged. Some have oil in their homes because oil

tanks ruptured,” said Regan. “The blueprint for handling a situation like this already exists.

This government should do the right thing — they should offer to buy their homes so these

folks can safely move on with their lives if they choose to do so.”