Transportation and Transit
Children from Wickaninnish Elementary that participated in today’s inaugural High Ground Hike will come home from school better equipped to survive an earthquake thanks to a free emergency kit from Emergency Management BC as part of the events to mark Tsunami Preparedness Week.
The Minister of State for Emergency Preparedness laced-up and ran alongside roughly 80 Tofino school children from all seven grades of the local elementary. The 1 km route from Tonquin Beach follows the Tofino tsunami evacuation route to one of the district’s high ground assembly areas.
The hike is focussed on shining a spotlight on the actions needed by coastal British Columbians who face the rare, but real tsunami threat in the province. A tsunami caused by a Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake could hit the B.C. coast in as little as 15 minutes.
The fun run concluded with a preparedness fair at the community hall that was attended by agencies like BC Ambulance Services, the Westcoast Inland Search & Rescue, Tofino Volunteer Fire Department, Emergency Social Services, RCMP and Island Health, as well as Department of Fisheries and Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard.
Quotes:
Naomi Yamamoto, Minister of State for Emergency Preparedness –
“Just as a professional athlete will practice their motions over and over until the body recognizes it without the mind keeping pace, meaning muscle memory takes over and the athlete performs the movements without forethought and it becomes a natural reaction or automatic physical response, today we’re teaching muscle memory to a generation of youth that must practice the drill of hiking to high ground in the event of a large earthquake. It’s why we promote the drop, cover and hold-on drill, so that when the ground shakes we react without delay; and it’s why we promote the reflex to run towards high ground safety when there is risk of a tsunami.”
Tofino mayor, Josie Osborne –
“Training is a key ingredient to handling any disaster, and far less costly than learning after the fact. A prepared community is one that can take care of itself, and that starts in our homes and schools by educating children and families about emergency preparedness and response. In the case of the High Ground Hike, today we’ve learned and practiced what to do in the case of a Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake. A prepared community is also one that can offer assistance to those most in need – something incredibly important to a resort municipality like Tofino.”
(flickr.com) Quick Facts:
- Tsunamis are a series of waves (not just one big one), most often generated by a major earthquake beneath the ocean floor. The time between crests can range from minutes to hours, and in height from a few centimetres to several metres. In the deep ocean, the waves travel about 800 kilometres per hour, but start to slow in shallower, coastal waters where their heights increase dramatically.
- If a tsunami threat is identified, Emergency Management BC will activate the Provincial Emergency Notification System (PENS), which notifies local communities and agencies with information on alert levels for the province’s five tsunami zones. Each zone includes all islands and inlets within it. What zone are you in? Emergency response plans are implemented at the local level as required.
- You can also subscribe to Twitter: http://www.emergencyinfobc.gov.bc.ca/resources/
- Text and email notifications via:
Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission: https://lists.unesco.org/wws/subscribe/tsunami-information-ioc
US National Tsunami Warning Center: http://wcatwc.arh.noaa.gov/ or: http://twitter.com/NWS_NTWC
Emergency Info BC: http://www.emergencyinfobc.gov.bc.ca/resources/ or: https://twitter.com/EmergencyInfoBC
Learn More:
Be Tsunami Smart: http://bit.ly/25ObZm7
Earthquake and Tsunami Smart Manual: http://bit.ly/20cilHR
Tsunami notification zones: http://ow.ly/10FPXZ
Tsunami Risks: http://bit.ly/22LeIv3
Tsunami FAQ: http://bit.ly/1SDCkd2
Basic emergency kit supplies: http://bit.ly/1JTPKOy
