Wednesday July 8, 2020 ~ METCHOSIN, BC
Editor ~ West Shore Voice News
The Metchosin Emergency Program will be running a local tsunami exercise to test their automated emergency response protocols.
The training exercise on Thursday evening July 9 between 7:00 and 7:45 pm will include an automated phone message to Metchosin residents. However, everyone who is in their Emergency Notification Program phone list will receive the call, including anyone who lives beyond Metchosin and even in other provinces.
The automated system will attempt the phone number the first time, if there is no answer or the line is busy, it will attempt every five minutes after that, for up to 30 minutes, it was stated in a notification today from
Metchosin Fire Chief and Emergency Program Coordinator Stephanie Dunlop.
Responders will go door to door:
In the high tsunami risk neighbourhoods (Duke Rd, Olympic View, Sandgate, Delgada), responders will be exercising notification timings. Responders will be going door-to-door with information notices to the homes that would be directly impacted.
As this is a timed training event, responders will be delivering these notices to each address as quickly as possible. They will also be activating their Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) and exercising their HAM Radio Operators.
Feedback welcome:
Anyone who has concerns during this exercise may call the Metchosin EOC at 250-474-3167.
Feedback on this notification process, delivery timing and public responses will be shared to residents post-exercise.
Learning from the exercise:
The Metchosin Emergency Program hopes after this exercise to be in a better position to provide more relevant information on the expectations and realities of notifications and what to do in an actual event.
