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B.C. to conduct first-ever full-scale major earthquake and tsunami response exercise in 2016


July 21, 2015   by Canadian Underwriter


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British Columbia has announced that it will conduct a first-ever full-scale major earthquake and tsunami response exercise next year.

The provincially-led exercise will test elements of the new B.C. Earthquake Immediate Response Plan

A $1 million investment will support the provincially-led exercise, which will test elements of the new B.C. Earthquake Immediate Response Plan, which is in the final stages of development, the provincial Ministry of Justice said in a press release on Monday. Emergency Management B.C. (EMBC) is in the process of developing Exercise Coastal Response, which will take place in the Port Alberni region from June 7 to 10, 2016.

Port Alberni was selected as the location for the exercise due to its seismic history, the ministry noted. Specifically, on March 27, 1964, a magnitude 9.2 earthquake struck Alaska, triggering a tsunami that reached Port Alberni just after midnight on March 28, causing flooding and devastation, including damage to 300 homes and buildings.

The exercise will also involve the real-time deployment of the Provincial Coordination Team (PCT), a cross-government group that can be activated to bring support to a local authority in an emergency, and the Heavy Urban Search and Rescue (HUSAR) team from Vancouver, the release noted. Once deployed, HUSAR will be involved in tasks related to searches and medical and structural assessments. HUSAR teams can locate trapped people in collapsed structures, move debris, and medically treat and transfer victims.

With the $1 million investment, B.C. will cover deployment costs for the HUSAR team, as well as the costs of staffing and carrying out the exercise. “This will be the first provincial earthquake exercise to test tsunami response and full-scale HUSAR deployment in Port Alberni, and the first full-scale HUSAR training exercise that the Vancouver team has performed with EMBC,” the release noted.

In addition to HUSAR and EMBC, multiple levels of government, various jurisdictions in Canada and the U.S., and a number of provincial ministries, First Nations, Crown corporations, first responders and internal and external agencies will all be invited to participate.

“This major exercise in Port Alberni will greatly assist all stakeholders, including first responders, to understand where our gaps in response and recovery may be,” said City of Vancouver Fire Chief John McKearney in the release. “Over the next year, the lead up to this exercise will provide the opportunity for emergency partners to work closely together to build out the exercise, which will create tremendous learning and create and strengthen the working relationships that are so important when major emergency events occur.”

Port Alberni Fire Chief Tim Pley added that in the Alberni Valley, “we know that we are at risk of a catastrophic Cascadia subduction zone earthquake followed immediately by a devastating tsunami. History tells us that.”

On October 15, officially ShakeOut BC Day, millions of people worldwide will practice how to “Drop, Cover and Hold On” during Great ShakeOut Earthquake Drills. ShakeoutBC reports that more than 386,000 British Columbians will participate in the drill.


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