Four high-tech earthquake and tsunami early-warning sirens are up and running on southern Vancouver Island after successful testing over the weekend, says Mike Hicks, CRD director for the Juan de Fuca electoral area.
“Tsunami warning, tsunami warning — move to higher ground or inland now,” a recorded male voice said after the long sirens blasted out Thursday through Sunday. It was Orwellian, said Hicks.
There are two systems in Port Renfrew, one in the Pacheedaht First Nation and one in Jordan River Regional Park.
The sirens were very effective and loud, Hicks said, tested remotely and from the Port Renfrew firehall. Because of a storm-related power outage in Port Renfrew, the battery back-up system was also naturally tested.
“The sound was incredibly loud and just like you’d hear an air-raid in a movie ... and that creepy voice comes on and tells you to go to higher ground, I found it creepy but it certainly does the job,” said Hicks.
The siren systems, worth $650,000 in total, can be triggered by sensors, set off manually from a facility such as a fire hall, or activated remotely with the authority of the manager of Emergency B.C. in the Capital Regional District, he said. The systems were designed by the University of B.C.
When set off by the sensors or remotely, the recording sounds off and on for up to four hours and can be overridden manually, said Hicks.
Siren testing took place in Jordan River Regional Park on Thursday. Port Renfrew and Pacheedaht First Nation heard testing through Saturday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. with a full test on Sunday at 11:30 a.m.
Port Renfrew has a population of about 189 and the Patcheedaht First Nation a base of 98.
Hicks envisions the sirens would make a difference in a scenario where a magnitude-9 earthquake strikes on the Cascadia subduction fault line. He imagines a strike at 2 a.m. on a summer’s night when Port Renfrew’s population has swollen by at least 1,000 surfers and campers. Time would be of the essence to escape to higher ground.
“That huge tsunami at 2 a.m. when we have to get [people] up and out, that’s what we’re trying to tool up for here,” he said.
In the case of a possible tsunami or earthquake, Emergency Management B.C. also activates an emergency notification system to alert first responders, community leaders and First Nation communities of such warnings and alerts. A social media team also posts warnings and alerts on Twitter under the handle @EmergencyInfoBC. A broadcast Alert Ready is delivered in vulnerable zones.
The provincial emergency notification system also broadcasts warnings to local emergency co-ordinators, mayors and Indigenous communities. It is then up to the municipalities to decide whether they issue an emergency alert and not all of them use text message warning systems.
Chris Duffy, executive director of Emergency Management B.C., said last week that the province will continue to use a “full suite or range of tools because there’s no silver bullet” notification system.
What works in Sooke isn’t best for Nanaimo or Tofino,” he said.
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission has ordered that by April 6, 2018, everyone on a high-speed wireless communication (LTE) network must be able to receive the same public alerts now broadcast on radio and TV in the event of natural disasters.
This will allow for more reach but there will still be gaps — places that don’t have cellphone coverage, Duffy said.
“All of these types of systems provide the best leverage and amplification we can get.”
