Andrew Padvaiskas built a small wooden hut on the east side of a pier outside the Lower Fraser River to find it flooded this week by rising river levels. For the past 48 hours, floodwaters have flooded his bed, leaving him with no choice but to save what he could and leave. “It simply came to our notice then. I have a hard time because I have nowhere to go. “It’s pretty rough out there,” a Maple Ridge resident told Global News, overlooking the river.
Read more: Heavy rainfall in areas of BC. Concerned About Flood Prone Areas: River Forecast Center
The River Prediction Center has put the Lower Fraser River under a high-flow warning, as continuous snowmelt and wet weather throughout the interior of BC. add to the main trunk and its tributaries. The story goes on under the ad Flows are forecast to increase in the coming days and with the “significant mountain snowfall” affecting the Fraser River, they will remain high for up to two weeks. Padvaiskas said he was aware of the dangers before building the cabin there – someone warned him – but the Lower Fraser River felt like “home”. It was one of the few places where he could exist peacefully without being kicked out of public space, he explained. “We are always run away from places,” he explained. “I just try to stay for myself, keep the place tidy and make sure there are no needles around so the kids can’t pick them up.” Trending Stories
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Tracy Scott, president and co-founder of the Maple Ridge Street Outreach Society, said Padvaiskas is not alone. Many homeless people in the area prefer to live by the river, believing it is “safer”. The story goes on under the ad “There is a lot of division and a lot of hatred in the city, I guess,” he explained. “No matter where they go in the city, they are stigmatized and often chosen by what we call vigilance, or sometimes by the regulations, sometimes by the police – it depends.” Once evicted from a park or bench or sidewalk, Scott said, the homeless have few places to go. Awareness society could not acquire its own building or shelter space. He estimates that about 50 people live on the river, but with the spring floods, many are now “wandering around at night because they have nowhere to go.”
Read more: Floods persist in BC with unstable weather forecasts experts say
The water level has risen to an unusually high level, he added, capturing many members of the bank’s community. A few meters from the shore, the land is still wet and muddy, which means that the tents have to be moved closer to the city than many feel comfortable. “They come to my friend’s house, they even go up to my building, trying to persuade (the people) to dry their blankets and dry their clothes. It’s soaking wet. “They are freezing,” he said. Scott lived on the streets for three years and said she knew how quickly hypothermia could occur. she added. The story goes on under the ad Scott said she hoped to share her story and the story of Padvaiskas, urging local decision-makers to “show some compassion”. © 2022 Global News, part of Corus Entertainment Inc.
