Correspondence from City of Parksville: Provincial emergency notification system (PENS)

January 27, 2014

President and Board of Directors Union of BC Municipalities 525 Government Street Victoria, BC V8V 0A8

On behalf of the Council of the City of Parksville I am writing to strongly urge you to continue to advocate for the provincial government to update or replace the provincial emergency notification system (PENS).

Two recent earthquakes (October 27, 2012 and January 5, 2013) off the west coast of Haida Gwaii and Vancouver Island were of strong enough intensity to generate warnings to residents about the possibility of a tsunami. The West Coast Alaska Tsunami Warning Centre, now called the National Tsunami Warning Centre, generated warnings that were sent to Emergency Management British Columbia (EMBC) where the provincial emergency notification system was activated. By the time emergency program coordinators and first responders received the provincial emergency system notification, the projected tsunami waves referenced by the warning had already contacted land.

If these two events had created large enough waves, evacuations for the life safety of coastal residents would not have been completed in time. Early notification for emergency program coordinators and first responders is paramount for the safety of residents in affected areas.

In 2013 the City of Parksville, through the AVICC and UBCM, brought forward a resolution to update or replace the provincial emergency notification system in order to provide more adequate notification to all coastal communities in the event of a natural disaster. As of this date, EMBC has advised that the province has no plan to implement any changes to the provincial emergency notification system.

This letter is to urge the UBCM and its membership to continue to advocate for the update or replacement of the provincial emergency notification system for the safety of residents living in coastal communities in British Columbia.

Yours truly,

CHRIS BURGER Mayor

cc:

• Honourable Suzanne Anton, Justice and Attorney General
• AVICC President and Board of Directors
• UBCM Member Municipalities
• Emergency Management British Columbia (EMBC)