Students at Pitt Meadows secondary felt the tremors of an earthquake on Monday morning – or a close approximation of one.
The disaster preparedness specialists at Motionsafe Inc brought a mobile earthquake similator to the school, to give students an the feeling of what it is like to be an earthquake measuring about 8.0 on the richter scale.
Quakesim
Jim Jardine explained the kids sit down and watch scenes from the old movie Earthquake, a 1974 disaster film starring Charleton Heston, while the simulator rocks them violently.
It was a timely message, as because Thursday is the Great British Columbia ShakeOut, when at 10:19 a.m. millions of people will practise how to drop, cover and hold on as part of a worldwide earthquake drill.
Jardine told the students who visited that a major earthquake happens about every 300 years in B.C., and the last one occurred in 1700. It measured approximately 9.0 on the Richter scale, shook all of BC and the U.S. coast all the way to California, and sent a distructive tsunami to Japan.
Holly Burrows, who teaches geography at the school, jumped at the chance to have the simulator at the school.
“I thought it would be a good experience – when the feel it, maybe they would think about it more,” she said, noting virtually the entire province is considered a high risk earthquake zone.
Thousands of British Columbians are participating in the Great British Columbian ShakeOut. St. John Ambulance is encouraging British Columbians and residents of Yukon to take safety into their own hands, participate in the Shake Out drill and get “Emergency Ready.”
In a 2017 survey conducted by Ipsos Reid and St. John Ambulance, 34 per cent of British Columbians rate their household’s overall level of emergency readiness as “excellent/good,” when actually only a staggering seven per cent of British Columbians are technically ready – have an emergency plan, purchased an emergency supply kit and are trained in first aid and CPR.
“After receiving the survey results, we realized how few people are truly ‘Emergency Ready’ in this province and we needed to do more to make is easy for people. We created the www.SETforEMERGENCY.com website, which provides four easy steps to become emergency ready, complete with a free Emergency Ready Plan and Checklist. People are so busy, this tool makes it so easy for people to finally get SET for Emergencies at work, home and play,” said Sandy Gerber of St. John Ambulance BC & Yukon.
Other findings from the survey of British Columbians:
11% have purchased an emergency supply kit and are certified in first aid
15% have purchased an emergency supply kit
17% have developed an emergency plan
31% have someone in their home certified to administer first aid
Emergency Readiness is higher among men (39%) than women (30%)
Residents level of Emergency Readiness was higher from those in the North/Interior (42%) and on Vancouver Island (39%) vs. Metro Vancouver (28%)
20% have an emergency kit in their vehicle
30% have access to an emergency kit or AED (Automated External Defibrillator) in their community
25% have access to an emergency kit or AED (Automated External Defibrillator) at work
5% have access to an emergency kit or AED (Automated External Defibrillator) at home
While most people recognize the importance of emergency preparedness, not everyone has taken the steps necessary to get themselves, their family, and neighbourhoods emergency ready. The survey also found the residents stated their most concerning BC Emergencies, with most personally concerned about their households being impacted by earthquake (64%) and household fire (64%), followed by an extended power outage (57%) and severe wind storm (54%).
“Our charity is on a mission to get people SET for Safety with Safety Education and Tools at work, home and play and to be ‘Emergency Ready’. It is not enough for people to purchase a 72 hour emergency kit, to be really ready for any emergency, one needs to have an emergency plan, a kit of supplies, be trained to administer first aid and continue to maintain their supplies and skills for an emergency,” said Karen MacPherson, CEO of St. John Ambulance British Columbia and Yukon.
