This isn’t what the Surrey Police Service’s first deployment was expected to look like, but officers are heading to Abbotsford to help with the flood recovery.
RELATED: B.C. declares state of emergency amid devastating floods, landslides, Nov. 17, 2021
In a tweet Wednesday (Nov. 17), SPS said it was sending 10 officers to Abbotsford for Wednesday and Thursday.
“While this is certainly not what we thought our first deployment would look like, we are honoured to be able to assist our colleagues,” reads the tweet.
Chief Lipinski and Supt. Allison Good addressing the first 10 SPS officers being deployed to the #Abbotsford floods. An historic moment for SPS as this marks our first operational deployment.
— Surrey Police Service (@surreyps) November 18, 2021
To all responders stay safe and thank you for your service. pic.twitter.com/1BxTBLDVDi
SPS added it’s “an historic moment for SPS as this marks our first operational deployment.”
On Thursday, the first members of a military contingent arrived in B.C. to help with the flood recovery.
READ ALSO: First members of military contingent arrive in B.C. to assist with flood recovery, Nov. 18, 2021
The Canadian Joint Operations Command says nine members of the Edmonton-based 3 Canadian Division Immediate Response Unit arrived in B.C. overnight to start scoping out the scene before planning and co-ordinating ongoing relief efforts in earnest.
According to the province, 17,775 people have been evacuated, with 5,918 properties on evacuation order and 3,632 properties on evacuation alert.
The province declared a state of emergency Wednesday, which will be in place for 14 days.
– With files from the Canadian Press, Katya Slepian
lauren.collins@surreynowleader.com
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