Preparing

Most people picture the end of the shaking followed by help arriving from outside. The official plan starts from a harder assumption. Local and provincial resources will be overwhelmed. Family and neighbours are likely to be the only help available at first, and households in an earthquake zone should aim to be self-sufficient for up to two weeks. [1]

Preparedness is a civic duty. A household that can look after itself leaves limited crews, shelter places and relief supplies for somebody with no other option. That is how private preparation builds regional resilience. [1]

Keep enough water, food and essential supplies for every person and pet in the home for at least two weeks. Infrastructure and utilities may take weeks to restore. [2] Emergency Support Services has limited capacity for short-term food, lodging and other help. The program is built around the first 72 hours, not the scale of a catastrophic earthquake. Access is not assured, and what is available may be needed more urgently by people with no safe home or other option. [1]

Plan for two weeks. Do not wait until you can buy everything at once. A written plan, a meeting place and a conversation with a neighbour are useful immediately and cost nothing.

Choose one contact outside British Columbia. Everyone in the household should know the number and use that person to pass on where they are. Pick two meeting places as well: one close to home, such as a mailbox on the street, and one farther away, such as a nearby park or community centre. [3] [4]

Write the plan on paper and put a copy in every grab-and-go bag. The province provides a fill-in household plan in English, French, Simplified and Traditional Chinese and Punjabi. It takes less space than a phone and works when the battery and network do not. [3] [5]

Most households have not made these simple decisions. In a 2021 poll of 800 British Columbians, 28 per cent had a plan for contacting family or friends and 22 per cent had an agreed meeting place. [6] Communications can be disrupted for days to weeks, and the service that remains may be reserved for emergency personnel. [7] Send a text before trying a call. Do not make a working phone the plan. [1]

Work out how each person would get home if roads were blocked and trains had stopped for damage inspections. [8] Decide who will collect children, check on anyone who lives alone and look after pets if the household is separated.

Earthquake Early Warning detects an earthquake after it starts and may provide seconds to tens of seconds of notice through compatible phones, television and radio. It does not predict earthquakes, and close to the source the alert may arrive as the shaking begins. [2] [9]

Whether the warning is the alert or the movement underfoot, do the same thing: Drop, Cover and Hold On. Get onto your hands and knees, cover your head and neck, and shelter under sturdy furniture. If none is close, crawl to an interior corner or wall. Hold on until the shaking stops, then count to 60 before getting up so loose objects have time to settle. [2]

If you use a wheelchair, walker or cane, lock the wheels instead of dropping, then cover your head and neck and hold on. Repeat the same response during aftershocks. [2] Practise in the places where people sleep, work and spend time. In the moment, the useful response is the one the body already knows.

The official target is four litres per person per day for at least two weeks. That allowance is not all drinking water. It also has to cover basic sanitation. [2] [8]

Two weeks of water takes a great deal of room. Do not let the full target become a reason to store none. Start with enough drinking water for as many days as your space allows. Add to it when you can, keep it in more than one container if possible, and refresh it on a schedule you will follow.

Stored drinking water covers the part of the first days that a household cannot improvise. Distributing bulk drinking water across the region may remain difficult for the first four to five days. [7] Every container closes part of that gap.

Add water and supplies for each pet, along with a separate grab-and-go bag. [10]

Choose food that needs no refrigeration and little or no cooking. Keep a manual can opener with it. Add a battery-powered or hand-crank radio, a flashlight and spare batteries, a phone power bank, first aid supplies, medications, dust masks, garbage bags, moist towelettes, warm layers, sturdy footwear, an emergency blanket, a whistle, copies of identification and insurance papers, and cash in small bills. Keep the kit somewhere everyone can reach. [2]

Pack a smaller grab-and-go bag for each person and pet. Include a copy of the household plan and a local map with both meeting places marked. [2] [10]

Plan around the person who will need the most help

Medication, mobility equipment, infant supplies, food allergies and the needs of older adults cannot be added after the earthquake. Write down medication details, keep extra supplies where possible and make sure someone else knows how specialised equipment works. [11]

Build a support network of at least three trusted people for anyone who may need help getting out or getting by. Give them the keys and medical information they need, show them where supplies are kept, and agree how they will check in without relying on a working phone. [11]

Start beside the beds. Fasten tall bookcases, cabinets and shelving to wall studs. Move pictures and mirrors away from beds and seating, latch cabinet doors, strap large appliances and anchor the water heater. [2]

If you rent or cannot drill, move heavy objects to lower shelves, move the bed away from windows, use removable fasteners under small appliances and keep sturdy shoes under the bed. [8] One safer room is a useful start.

Find the electrical panel, water valve and gas valve before an emergency. Learn how each works and keep the right tool near the gas valve. [2]

Do not shut off the gas unless an official tells you to. Once gas is off at the meter, a registered gas contractor has to visit the home and relight every appliance before service can return. That household-by-household work may take weeks after a major emergency. [12] [13] Never turn it back on yourself.

Meet the neighbours before you need one another. Start with a group that already exists, such as a strata council, residents’ association or Block Watch group. Work out who may need extra help, who knows first aid, who can interpret, and who has useful equipment such as a barbecue, generator or chainsaw. Agree where to meet and whether the building or block has room for shared supplies. [4]

Neighbours are not official first responders, and directions from officials come first. They are still the people most likely to be close enough to help in the first hours. [1]

Move carefully and look for hazards above and below. If the building is structurally safe, stay there. Leave if it is badly damaged, poses a safety risk or officials order an evacuation. Take the grab-and-go bags and follow the instructions provided. [2]

Call 9-1-1 only for a life-threatening emergency. After a magnitude 4.7 earthquake in 2015, calls to E-Comm rose by 1,500 per cent. [14] Keep the network available for someone whose life depends on it.

In Vancouver, yellow signs mark 25 disaster support hubs where services may include lodging, food, water, supplies, information and help reconnecting families. No public capacity figure is available, so do not make a hub bed part of the household plan. [15]

Disaster Response Routes are not evacuation routes. They remain open to everyone until a state of emergency is declared. Once activated, get off them and leave them clear for emergency traffic. [16]

A complete two-week kit costs money and takes space. Start with the water and food already in the home, then add an item to the regular shopping when the budget allows. Dollar stores, thrift stores and garage sales can cover much of the equipment. A backpack can come from a thrift store, and first aid supplies can be gathered from what is already in the house. [17]

Keep the supplies together, use what is nearing its expiry date and replace it. A partial kit that exists is more useful than a perfect kit still waiting to be bought.