We are inundated with community service announcements asking us if we are ready for an earthquake. They remind us to have extra food, plenty of water, emergency plans for the family - all good and necessary things.
But that's if the big one hits when you're at home. If a massive earthquake hits the Lower Mainland during the day many of us will be at our workplaces and our children will be at school. And what can a parent do if their child is at school - and a school deemed at high risk for damage if an earthquake hits?
For decades we've been waving editorial red flags about speeding up the process to have our city schools seismically upgraded. And while there's been some progress - it is simply not enough and not fast enough.
The recent earthquake off of Vancouver Island reminded us, yet again, of how vulnerable we are if the big one hits.
Scientists say the last major earthquake hit the Pacific Coast on Jan. 26, 1700. They believe it was about a 9 on the seismic scale and was probably felt as far away as the Manitoba border. It created a four-storey high tsunami that hit the Japanese coast and levelled everything in its path.
For many it's just too horrible to imagine, and indeed if we are hit with something in the 9 range - seismic retrofitting may not be able to save many older buildings. But that surely shouldn't stop us from trying to ensure that our schools are as well equipped as possible to withstand a major earthquake. If a major earthquake happens, and we have not done everything we can to ensure the current high-risk schools have been upgraded, how will we be able to justify our losses? It doesn't seem possible.
Once again we urge the provincial government to come up with the cash to expedite all seismic upgrading for high-risk schools.
Surely this is an issue that is as important as making sure our transit systems can handle commuters for the next 20 years. Isn't it?
