Concerns over B.C.’s emergency response arise on Haida Gwaii
Haida Gwaii residents headed for the hills long before government posted warnings
By Christopher Reynolds, Vancouver Sun October 28, 2012 10:01 PM
Concerns over B.C.’s emergency response arise on Haida Gwaii
"A 7.7 earthquake has recently struck near Prince Rupert, British Columbia, Canada. I hope all are ok!"
Photograph by: Emotional Directions @EDirections , Twitter
Small communities under evacuation orders Saturday night responded calmly and quickly after a 7.7-magnitude earthquake hit Haida Gwaii and triggered fears of a tsunami, said local and provincial officials. But the time lapse between the quake and the response by Emergency Management B.C. left some questioning the government’s disaster preparedness.
“The first call I got from the provincial emergency program was an hour at least after the earthquake. We’d already initiated the evacuation,” said Chris Ashurst, emergency coordinator in Tow Hill Road, a community of about 200 people 10 kilometres east of Masset on Haida Gwaii.
“Normally I would wait for that call before doing that .... By the time we got that call, the wave had already passed, quite a bit earlier,” he said.
Instead, Ashurst looked to Google Alerts, which picked up on a Web notice from the U.S. Geological Survey immediately after the quake jolted his home just after 8 p.m. He also called the mayor of Masset, who told him he had issued an evacuation order despite not having heard from Emergency Management, the provincial agency responsible for advisories of active emergencies.
Ashurst decided to initiate an evacuation process too, which saw him drive to 60 households and use a subscription telephone service telling residents to move to higher ground.
He said the province’s lag time contrasted with its quick response to the Tohoku earthquake that devastated parts of Japan in 2011. “I got that call pretty quickly.”
Justice Minister Shirley Bond, who oversees Emergency Management B.C., said communities have to take responsibility for their situations, with assistance from Emergency Management.
“They are the first line of defence when an event occurs in their proximity. The provincial emergency response centre’s responsibility is to provide support and look at broad coordination if other services need to be called in,” she said.
In B.C., local authorities spearhead the initial response to emergencies. They are required by law to maintain an emergency management organization and emergency plans.
Back near Tow Hill Road, Ashurst said he recognized the lead role local authorities take in evacuations and resolved to rely less on Emergency Management in the future.
“Next time this happens, I’m not going to be waiting for the provincial emergency program to call me. I’m going to use other forms of investigation to find out,” he said.
In Tofino, Mayor Perry Schmunk said it took provincial officials roughly 45 minutes to contact local emergency responders, who had already begun alerting residents and sounding alarm sirens.
Meanwhile, Twitter users seeking information from @EmergencyInfoBC — an official communication channel of the B.C. government — expressed exasperation at what they saw as a delayed response.
Kelli Kryzanowski, manager of strategic initiatives with Emergency Management B.C., said the agency would play a more prominent role in the case of larger-scale disasters.
“What we tell people is our warning system really was developed for what’s called a ‘teletsunami’ that takes place somewhat farther away from our shores. And then we notify people that it’s coming,” she said Sunday.
“When we have an earthquake of the magnitude that we had last night, the earthquake is your best warning.
“Those people on Haida Gwaii knew that it was a large earthquake, and once the ground stopped shaking, they didn’t wait. They picked themselves up and went to higher ground. And that’s exactly what we tell people to do,” Kryzanowski said.
On the mainland, Prince Rupert fire chief and emergency program coordinator Dave Mckenzie said he was pleased with the province’s response. “They were in contact with me right away. As soon as they got information, they passed it on to us.”
In Bella Coola, a coastal community of about 600 people, RCMP Const. Jason Archer responded to the local emergency coordinator’s evacuation order and drove down to the wharf to tell sailors and residents. Although they hadn’t heard from the province, local firefighters blocked roads leading down to the water and informed a costume party on a houseboat about the possible tsunami, offering them a ride to higher ground.
In Queen Charlotte City on Haida Gwaii, Mayor Carol Kulesha said she recognized the severity of the earthquake immediately it struck.
“My job as the mayor is to be the communications person. So I just started to get my stuff together, to evacuate the house and go to wherever we establish our emergency ops centre,” she said.
Kulesha packed her grab-and-go evacuation bag — packed with water, canned food, spare clothes, boots and a blanket — and went to join emergency responders helping people from lower-lying areas shuttle to safety.
She was in touch with the province about the eventual tsunami warning. “But it’s up to the local groups themselves to help themselves,” she said.
She voiced concern, however, that Emergency Management hadn’t provided enough resources, like radios and cellphone signal boosters, to help remote communities communicate with each other directly during emergencies — when power may be out, cellphones out of range and the web accessible only through dial-up.
Jackie Kloosterboer, emergency planning coordinator for the City of Vancouver, said being prepared is the key to dealing with a disaster.
“We are so overdue for an earthquake in Vancouver and it’s only a matter of time,” she said.
She recommends having a week’s worth of non-perishable food on hand, as well as necessary medication, cash, backup pet care plans and multiple contacts to reach out to. She even suggested strapping down the house hot water tank to prevent tipping during an earthquake.
creynolds@vancouversun.com© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun
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