Following Friday’s earthquake, the Sunshine Coast Regional District stresses the importance of emergency preparedness.
Friday saw a magnitude 5.1 earthquake on the mainland between Sechelt and Gibsons, resulting in nearly 7,000 people reportedly feeling the quake.
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The district says while these kinds of events are rare, they can be frightening and lead to questions on emergency preparedness.
“To help the community understand the SCRD’s role in events such as an earthquake, the SCRD is providing insight into our response following Friday’s earthquake,” said the district.
“Within minutes of the earthquake, the focus of the response became the main SCRD administration building since any emergency response would need to be coordinated from this building. The building was evacuated, and a visual inspection showed no structural issues.”
The district adds their Emergency Program coordinator liaised with fire departments, police, BC Emergency Health Services, BC Ferries, and local governments to get a status report, followed by staff putting up an emergency coordination call, and liaising with agencies such as Vancouver Coastal Health and BC Provincial Emergency Operations Centre.
No major issues were reported following the earthquake.
In the event of another emergency, they recommend having a household plan, emergency kit, and supplies to last at least a week.
