Thursday October 19, 2023 | VANCOUVER ISLAND, BC
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
Wherever you are in BC today, at 10:19 am you might stop to pretend that an earthquake is happening.
It’s part of the annual Shakeout BC public education program to help people prepare for the impacts of a significant earthquake. | Register for ShakeOut BC
The so-called ‘big one’ is inevitable, say geoscientists. It’s just a matter of time until the earth’s plates below our feet endure enough pressure before reaching a release point.
The last big quake happened in 1700, so apparently it’s possibly soon time for the next one.
Too busy at 10:19?:
Most people are busy at 10:19 am on a weekday morning.
So if you don’t have a chance to actually practice “drop, cover and hold on” at that moment during ShakeOut BC, you could do that anytime today, or this weekend.
It’s about building up muscle memory, and also a space in your head to readily respond in an emergency.
Things you can do today:
Today is a good day to more deeply embed emergency preparedness into your daily lifestyle. Here are a few things you can do today:
- Start planning an emergency kit, including a shopping list for items you don’t already have around the house. Or update the contents of your emergency kit.
- Prepare a go-bag for every member of your household, including pets. Or update the contents of existing go-bags.
- Take an inventory of things in your office or home that could fall over onto people. Make adjustments as necessary.
- Check to see where you would take cover. Are there desks and tables with clear space underneath?
- Think about where you might be during an earthquake. At home (sleeping or awake), in your car (driver or passenger), at your workplace (would you stay or would you go), at the beach or shoreline (would you be in a tsunami zone).
- Get yourself signed up for online emergency alert systems. Also find local X (Twitter) feeds for specific updates.
Some photos of today’s ShakeOut BC:
