2026 Mid-Year Update: Expanding Earthquake and Tsunami Preparedness Across BC
As we begin the second half of the year, we can reflect on successes in all aspects of our strategic plan. Our first Gaming Grant, increased education activities, a new Quake Tale, new non-financial partners, and additional board committee members to name a few. We have a number of opportunities and plans for the second half of the year and we will highlight a few of those here.
Tsunami Preparedness Week and Emergency Preparedness Week
We were very pleased to be invited to participate in a number of events this Spring. Thank you to IBC for providing financial support for our visits to Ucluelet and Tofino to participate in their High Ground Hikes this year. Participation in the Hikes throughout BC broke records again this year. Please save the date for the second week in April next year.
We were also pleased to be in Victoria with our friends from the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction in West Shore and at the Legislature. It has been a week full of connections with colleagues, the public and an opportunity to meet with Ministers and staff. Thank you to Minister Greene and her team, all our volunteers, and everyone who helped to make the events such a great success!
Thank you to our 2026 financial supporters
We are immensely grateful to our sponsors and partners for their support in 2026. Without their help, we couldn’t do what we do. Please learn more about them here: https://bcearthquakealliance.
Deepening Earthquake Awareness and Preparedness in BC.
Senior’s Week was another opportunity to present our workshop for seniors and caregivers in Vancouver.
Canadian Risk & Hazards Network (CRHNet) Conference (May 12-14), Edmonton– Thank you to the organizers for including us in the program and for the great dialogues!
Shelter in Place, Household Seismic Resilience and Retrofit-We are continuing to work with members, researchers and multidisciplinary professionals to ensure that a broader range of preparedness and mitigation information is available. We are planning webinars this fall that will help increase awareness of risks and deeper preparedness actions.
ShakeOut Week is planned for October 9-15th – Sign up for ShakeOut is now open for 2026. Please remind the people in your circle to renew at www.shakeoutbc.ca to ensure that they are not missing any of the timely blasts containing easy to share earthquake and tsunami preparedness materials. We are asking everyone to be mindful of the need to take immediate protective action when the shaking starts or you get an alert. Practice remains important for building muscle memory.
Expanding External Evaluation-As you likely know, we collect data every second year to help us improve our services with our next survey coming up in the winter of 2026. This year we are working with Royal Roads University to expand our evaluation under the supervision of the DEM Program Head, Prof. Mahmood Fayazi. This evaluation will ensure that we have additional insight on our work in BC.
T’Sou-Ke Nation Emergency Preparedness Fair:
Promoting Drop, Cover and Hold On during a community preparedness event.
UBCO and Connections Grant Application – We are working toward a two day interdisciplinary provincial forum and training series that we hope will take place in early 2027 on Vancouver Island. We are grateful for Dr. Lisa Tobber and her team for leading the grant application process. We are currently seeking matching funds to support the effort. The tour of the lab in Kelowna was also a great experience when we met.
Northern and Central BC – September – We are excited to be heading North this year for the first time. If you would like us to stop in your community, please let us know. We expect to be in the Region the week of September 16-23rd. We are also pleased to be visiting Takla Nation. Matching funds will help us increase the number of tour stops and add the Quake Cottage Simulator to the Tour.
Our next virtual Community of Practice is on August 26th bcearthquakealliance.ca/event/
Matching funds will help us leverage our funding to increase the impact of educational activities – Commitments to funding will put us in a stronger position to apply for more Gaming Grant funding. The funds received this year supported ShakeOut, Quake Tales, and the Earthquake Preparedness Tour.
From the Board
Congratulations to Naomi Yamamoto on the appointment to the JIBC Board Approved Program Advisory Committee. Our call for BCEA board nominations has now closed and we are grateful to everyone who helped us in the outreach process for a board appointee. We are pleased to welcome BCEA Members to our board committees. Thank you for expanding our strength.
Please help us reach our goal – BCEA has a very limited budget and no sustained government funding. To sustain our momentum and maintain the high standard of preparedness education, our board has launched a fundraising campaign to raise $30,000 to support our work. As a mission-driven organization working toward becoming BC’s Earthquake Preparedness Hub, we face the same rising operational costs that affect all sectors and other not for profit organizations. We are also looking for help as we explore whether charitable status will be helpful in sustaining our expanded work. Please reach out if you need more information or can assist.
Stay safe,
Christine
