Talk safety preparation and experience a quake as Oak Bay celebrates an extended Emergency Preparedness Week May 1 to 7.
It’s a good time to check your emergency plan and build or update emergency kits, says Eileen Grant, manager of emergency programs for Oak Bay.
“We really think beyond the week,” Grant said. “We really look at it as emergency preparedness month and we encourage people to get their kits done and really work together on getting prepared.”
Oak Bay Emergency Program volunteers start the week with a traditional information session at Windsor Park.
Emergency Preparedness Begins with You! is Tuesday, May 3 at 7 p.m. at 2451 Windsor Rd. The event is free, but pre-register at 250-592-9121 or email obep@oakbay.ca to guarantee a seat.
“Throughout the week we’re going to be at the various Oak Bay schools that have Grade 3 classes and we will be giving them emergency preparedness instruction,” Grant said.
All will be augmented with a display at municipal hall.
Then, there are the seven Quake Cottage events across the CRD starting May 15 in Sidney at the Mary Winspear Centre before heading a little closer to the core, and Oak Bay. Oak Bay-adjacent events are slated for May 16 at Royal Jubilee Hospital, May 18 at UVic and May 21 at Mayfair mall.
Oak Bay Emergency Program volunteers will be on hand for the May 18 appearance near the University of Victoria library, starting late morning to early afternoon. Around 11:30 a.m., university representatives and municipal mayors and councillors will be on hand.
“We will be most present at UVic, we’re going to have our truck there and a couple volunteers,” Grant said.
The Quake Cottage was developed in California and has toured North America two or three times.
“They’re a trailer set up on a system of hydraulics that can simulate an 8.0 earthquake,” Grant said. “They can process about 100 people an hour. It’s a free activity for people and this is the second time it has been here in Canada – the first time it has been on the Island.”
Seven events are slated for Greater Victoria, then the Quake Cottage heads up Island to prepare residents for what a large event could potentially feel like.
“We try to describe in our presentations what an earthquake feels like,” Grant said. “Quite frankly I’ve talked to a lot of people who have been in earthquakes and they all have a different description.”
The motion is often described as undulation or shaking and the feel is dependent on type, strength, and personal perception and memory.
Visit quakecottage.com/2016-tour-of-canada/ for other events in the region.