Port Alberni to be site of massive 9.0 earthquake, tsunami disaster drill
VICTORIA — British Columbia’s government is spending $1.2 million on a massive earthquake drill to prepare for the real thing, which forecasters say has one-in-three odds of hitting the West Coast in the next 50 years.
Naomi Yamamoto, B.C.’s emergency preparedness minister, says it’s not a matter of if an earthquake hits, it’s when — and being prepared pays off in a disaster.
“It’s (money) very well spent,” she said. “We know that for every dollar we spend on not just mitigation, but planning, there’s huge return should something actually happen.”
More than 60 different organizations and 600 people are participating in the three-day earthquake drill, including Emergency Management BC, RCMP, Salvation Army, Red Cross, Coast Guard, and local First Nations.