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Not just an earthquake drill, The Great BC Shakeout is a call to be prepared

Oct 20, 2016 | 11:05 AM

NANAIMO — When the big one hits, local officials hope that Vancouver Islanders will be ready.

A massive province wide earthquake drill called The Great BC Shakeout took place today with an estimated 800,000 participants.

Nanaimo emergency program manager Karen Lindsay says participating in the drill that was broadcast on 102.3 The Wave and 106.9 The Wolf is important, but in general she hopes people will go over their emergency plans and update their earthquake kits.

“For businesses we hope they’ll review their emergency procedures with their staff. The schools participate in this as well. They do the drill and it’s fantastic to see that because kids retain this information. We’re trying to get this ingrained into the students minds, as we do live in a seismic area,” said Lindsay.

It’s not just about being prepared for an earthquake.

Lindsay says in our region of the world there are other potential natural disasters that could affect us on Vancouver Island.

“Although this is for earthquakes we just have to look at last weekend, and although the storm wasn’t as significant as what was predicted, these emergency kits, practices, and checks that we put in place all help towards overall emergency management,” said Lindsay.

There were 19,603 registrations in the central island region in 2015, and Parksville’s emergency program co-ordinator Aaron Dawson says they’ve seen local interest in the drill grow over the years.

“That doesn’t mean that they’re getting prepared, and that’s always the push that we as emergency program co-ordinators have is to go beyond that,” said Dawson. “Yes, please practice that drill but go that next step – prepare your house, have that grab and go bag, know where everything is, and make your house safe.”  

Information on earthquake preparedness is available at www.shakeoutbc.ca and locally at www.nanaimo.ca and www.parksville.ca.