Great BC ShakeOut Update

We are now just under one month from ShakeOut 2024.  We currently have over 271,000 people in BC signed up for the drill.  Please make sure you are signed up, spread the word and help make this our strongest year yet!  ShakeOut Week in BC has been officially proclaimed October 11-.18, 2024:  https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/proclamations/proclamations/ShakeOutWeek2024

Remember to plan some fun into your events internally and externally.  We recently had the opportunity to connect with colleagues from free choice learning organizations in other jurisdictions and learned how they include Halloween themes, contests and other fun activities in their ShakeOut activities that run the whole month of October.  We would love to hear your stories about how you are boosting engagement.

Quake Tales Project – 

Thank you to those of you who have made story referrals and to our internal and external reviewers for their time and expertise.  Our next story Lessons from a Disaster:  Be Prepared Because You Can Do Little After and Earthquake is now available from the website https://bcearthquakealliance.ca/bcea-quake-tales/.   We know that stories with a local connection make a difference.  In the coming months we will be sharing more stories from New Zealand, Japan, and San Francisco.  We are also looking for stories that share experiences from a workplace or business lens.

We are also looking for Quake Tales stories from a business perspective.  If you know anyone who might be willing to share, please reach out.

Emergency Preparedness Workshop – Fraser Valley

There are a few seats remaining for the workshop we are presenting in Langley on September 28th. We expect the event to be full pretty quickly.  We are also looking for a few more volunteer table hosts.  If you are interested in helping, please reach out to office@bcearthquakealliance.ca:  To register:  https://bcearthquakealliance.ca/event/bcea-langley-emergency-preparedness-workshop/

Building Resilient Communities (BRC) Conference

We are very excited to be partnering with the BC Economic Development Association (BCEDA) to deliver a presentation at the upcoming BRC Conference in Penticton.  Check out the BCEDA resources available on topics of economic recovery and resilience: : https://www.bceda.ca/economic_disaster_preparation.php 

New Resources for Schools

If you missed the Ask the Expert School-Aged Edition in the spring, here is a recorded segment of the presentation on the topic of Emergency Kits and Supplies: https://youtu.be/Men5qS84_Hk?feature=shared.  A full version of the presentation can be accessed here:  https://youtu.be/GUr9Fz2jxNo?feature=shared

Event Calendar

Dont miss out.  Please visit our events calendar for ShakeOut Week activities and a range of regional education events.  If you have upcoming public education events that you would like to share, please reach out.  We will do our best to share relevant events via our event calendar as time permits.

Help Needed

We are looking for volunteers, members, sponsors and partners to support our reach throughout the province.  As we look forward to implementing our new 2025-2028 strategic plan, we are happy to explore how we can collaborate to increase our impact. Please contact cbuttkus@bcearthquakealliance.ca for more information.

Thank you to our sponsors, partners and funders!

We are very pleased to announce that BCAA has recently renewed their support of our work to increase reach to underserved communities.  Our funding with the Government of Canada Emergency Community Recovery Fund has now concluded and we were immensely grateful for this important support of our work over the past year.  Of course, we remain grateful for the ongoing support of the Canadian Red Cross.

As we approach the final lead up to ShakeOut, a special shout out to our dedicated sponsors. The Great BC ShakeOut earthquake drill is made possible through the generous support of our presenting sponsor, the Insurance Bureau of Canada, our silver sponsor Fortis BC, and our bronze sponsors Health Emergency Management BC and BC Hydro.  Our English language television partner is Global BC.

Save the Date – Next Virtual Community of Practice – November 26th, 1:00p.m.

Thanks to everyone who joined us last week for our session, where attendees discussed plans for the upcoming Great BC ShakeOut earthquake drill.  Community Groups and Organizations are invited to Join us on  November 26th at 1p.m. for our next quarterly virtual Community of Practice.  BCEA Board Member Miranda Myles will facilitate.  Register via our event calendar (link: https://bcearthquakealliance.ca/events/list/  By request, the registration link now provides the option to sign up for the series.