The District of Kent and The Village of Harrison Hot Springs attended the 2016 UBCM in Victoria last week, and both parties met with great success. It was an exceptional conference, as Mayors, council, and staff members were able to address some of the major concerns of their communities.
Emergency preparedness is of urgency and was a top priority on the agenda, considering evacuation routes are limited in The District of Kent and The Village of Harrison Hot Springs.
“There is only one road out of here,” said Mayor Van Laerhoven, affirming the importance of community members to adhere to a solid evacuation plan, which is currently in the works.
Road safety is of utmost importance as he cautioned drivers to be careful with the beginning of the winter season, especially on Highway 7 and Highway 9.
The ongoing potential for natural disasters in this region has the entire Fraser Valley concerned, with the devastating power outage that occurred last week from Abbotsford to Boston; which spurred the unfortunate phrase ‘Zombie Apocalypse,’ amongst the public.
Dire warnings may have shaken the community, but Van Laerhoven mentioned that taking precaution is always important in the likelihood of a major natural disaster.
“Shelf-ready, we want to have a plan that is shelf ready,” Van Laerhoven told The Observer, of concerns related to flooding and earthquake preparedness on both a provincial and federal level.
Staying calm in the event of an emergency is of utmost importance.
“The District of Kent is hopeful and we received a good reception — we are cautiously optimistic” Van Laerhoven told The Observer of all proceedings, and according to Mayor Leo Facio at Monday’s council meeting, The Village of Harrison Hot Springs seconded that notion.
For more information on emergency preparedness please view The District of Kent’s current emergency plan, under emergency services, as well that of The Village of Harrison Hot Springs.
Please see our next edition this Thursday, October 6, as well as a comprehensive council briefing of both communities’ results from the 2016 UBCM for our October 13 edition.
