After the Quake – Emergency Preparedness is Key

While thankfully there has been no reports of any major damage or injuries following Friday’s earthquake, the event has brought the importance of emergency preparedness to the minds of many on the Sunshine Coast.  

The Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) is also aware that these kinds of events, while rare, can be frightening and lead to many questions around emergency preparedness. To help the community understand the SCRD’s role in events such as an earthquake, the SCRD is providing insight into our response following Friday’s earthquake.  

SCRD Immediate Response
Within minutes of the earthquake, the focus of the response became the main SCRD administration building since any emergency response would need to be coordinated from this building. The building was evacuated, and a visual inspection showed no structural issues. 

While this was being done, the SCRD’s Emergency Program Coordinator liaised with fire departments, the RCMP, BC Emergency Health Services, BC Ferries, other local governments on the Sunshine Coast and the SCRD’s Infrastructure Services department to obtain a status report from each.  

Following this, emergency program staff set up an emergency coordination call. This call occurred roughly 30-minutes after the earthquake and included fire departments, emergency health services, SCRD emergency staff and input from agencies including the RCMP. Following the call, emergency program staff liaised with Howe Sound Pulp and Paper, Vancouver Coastal Health, Capilano Highways, other local governments and the BC Provincial Emergency Operations Centre.  

With no major issues being reported, SCRD communications staff then prepared and distributed a news release outlining the response and advice for residents.  

Shortly after the coordination call, the SCRD’s infrastructure services department performed flyovers of the SCRD’s major infrastructure including dams at Chapman and Edwards Lake. Staff also hiked into infrastructure in the Pender Harbour area and checked on wastewater treatment plants around the region. No issues were found at any of the major infrastructure inspected.   

SCRD emergency program staff continued to monitor tsunami risk and aftershocks in the hours after the earthquake.  

Emergency Alerts
The alert received by many residents on the Sunshine Coast came from an alert system managed by the the Federal Government. This system monitors seismic activity and can send alerts to the affected areas. More information on this system can be found here.  

In this instance, the Federal emergency alert system had already distributed an alert to residents prior to the SCRD considering use of Voyent Alert, the SCRD’s free emergency alert system. Voyent Alert is used to notify residents of impending emergencies or imminent danger. It was not used for this event since a Federal emergency alert had already been sent out and it was quickly recognized there was no need for local residents to take any action.  

SCRD staff will debrief the response to Friday’s earthquake and the potential use of Voyent Alert in future events will be part of the discussion.  

Evacuation Routes
The SCRD regularly receives questions about evacuation routes on the Sunshine Coast. The answer quite simply is that evacuations will depend on the location and type of emergency event that has taken place.  

There is no one-size-fits-all evacuation plan for the Sunshine Coast. Each evacuation plan would be unique and coordinated with emergency services on the Sunshine Coast.  

In an emergency, residents will be provided the safest route to evacuate based on the type and location of an emergency. Such information would be distributed via Voyent Alert.  

Getting Prepared
While the SCRD can coordinate an emergency response, it is everyone’s responsibility to ensure that you are prepared for an event like an earthquake.  

This means being prepared with a household plan, an emergency kit and supplies to last at least seven days. As outlined above, the SCRD’s initial focus in an emergency is ensuring that those required to provide response can do so safely. Following this, a coordinated emergency response will take place, however depending on the event and location, this could take several days.  

To increase resilience within your community, reach out to neighbours and start a Neighbourhood Emergency Preparedness Program. More information can be found here. 

There are lots of great resources to help you plan for an emergency right here at www.scrd.ca/emergency-program. Now is the time to read this information and make sure you are prepared.