Wonder what’s going to happen when an earthquake the magnitude of that which rocked Japan earlier this month hits this side of the Pacific? Want to know more specifically what to expect, and how to better prepare for just such a disaster?
A public forum planned for March 31 aims to offer just that information and spur area residents to better prepare for an earthquake or any major emergency.
The forum, to take place 7-9 p.m. in the Shaw Auditorium of the Vancouver Island Conference Centre, is co-sponsored by the City of Nanaimo and the News Bulletin.
The primary goal is to share information and prompt more people to get prepared.
“Considering the recent eathquakes elsewhere in the world, and then this month’s devastating situation in Japan, it seemed like a perfect time to use the general awareness those incidents created to foster even greater levels of awareness and preparedness,” said Karen Lindsay, the city’s emergency program manager.
“The Japan situation, more than any other, seems to have really struck home to people that something of this significance could also happen here. I’ve been inundated with requests for workshops and information since it happened.”
Presenters will include: Lindsay and Ron Lambert, chief of Nanaimo Fire Rescue; Alison Bird, a federal government seismologist; and Marley Daviduk and Carissa Webster, two Nanaimo residents who witnessed the Japanese tsunami first-hand.
Lindsay and Lambert will touch on the basics of emergency preparedness and how the city responds in terms of emergency management.
Bird will address the science of earthquakes and what is expected to occur on the Island.
Daviduk and Webster will share their personal account of what they witnessed when the tsunami washed into the coastal Japanese village of Otsuchi, as well as their thoughts on what they saw that helped save lives and what didn’t.
The Shaw Auditorium has capacity for 200 people, with overflow space in the lobby where, if necessary, people can take in the forum on big screens.
Although the event is free, donations will be accepted to go to a registered charity for the relief efforts in Japan.
The entire event will also be recorded by Shaw TV and aired at a later date, with the video also posted on both the city and News Bulletin websites.
