The Sunshine Coast will be a disaster zone next Wednesday, but not to worry, it's only an exercise.
On March 14, the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) is conducting an emergency exercise to test the preparedness of the community to deal with a large-scale incident.
"The exercise has been carefully planned to not only test our emergency plan, but also our ability to work together and respond in the event of an emergency," said SCRD emergency program co-ordinator Bill Elsner.
Almost 20 different organizations are expected to take part, including Sunshine Coast RCMP, fire departments, BC Ambulance, School District No. 46, Town of Gibsons, District of Sechelt, Sechelt Indian Government District, SCRD, St. Mary's Hospital, Emergency Social Services, Search and Rescue, Amateur Radio, B.C. Ferries, Coast Guard Auxiliary, and CKAY radio station.
Although it is only an exercise, all of the organizations involved will be reacting as though it were an actual emergency.
"Exercises like this become even more important when we reflect on the disasters in New Zealand and Japan and the recent 5.7 earthquake off the coast of Vancouver Island - training and preparedness are critical," added SCRD board chair Garry Nohr.
On March 14, among the many things being tested are radio communication, response times, evacuation procedures, notifications, and the establishment of the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC). An EOC is a central command facility for carrying out the principles of emergency preparedness or disaster management.
"An EOC is responsible for the 'big picture' of the disaster, and does not normally directly control field assets, instead making operational decisions and leaving tactical decisions to lower commands," said Elsner.
The scenario will focus on a seismic event and will run from approximately noon to 4 p.m. At the end of the exercise, participants will get together to review the events of the day, assess what went well and make recommendations on what could be changed to help improve the response in the event of an actual disaster.
- Submitted
