Did you know:

• Mt Currie might dominate our skyline, but it’s Mt Meager that dominates our geography. It is one of of the most active volcanoes on the coast.
• We get an annual precip of 40 inches, almost half of which comes as snow.
• More than a quarter of the 7000 residents in the region are under the age of 18.
• Local gas stations have 12-14 hours of fuel supply, and grocery stores have 1-2 days of perishables and a week worth of dry goods, under normal conditions.
• In an emergency, local water supply could be disrupted by up to 5 days.
• Cellphone failure is common in emergencies because of extraordinary demands on the network.
• The likelihood of a disaster here is “very likely.”
• A recent Hazard Vulnerability Risk Assessment Report identified the 8 priority hazards of the Pemberton region to plan for – because of their risk and impact: earthquake, railway accident, fire, hazardous materials accident, flood, or multiple causality incident, gas leak, and landslide.

For all these reasons, local emergency preparedness officials are considering recommending and educating residents to prepare to survive for 7 days, instead of 72 hours, without basic services, in event of a disaster.

They have also recently reinvigorated the Pemberton Valley Emergency Social Services Program and are looking for a few good volunteers.

In the event of a fire, flood, earthquake or other emergency that forces residents to evacuate their homes, local volunteers with Emergency Social Services will step in to provide short-term assistance.

A cooperative effort of the Village of Pemberton and the SLRD, led by volunteer ESS Coordinator Cathy Beaudry, the Pemberton Valley ESS program will kick off with a free refresher training day on Saturday November 16 2013, from 9am – 4:30pm. (Lunch provided.) RSVP to Cathy Beaudry, ESS Coordinator (beaudrycatherine@hotmail.com) and/or Ryan Wainwright, Emergency Program Manager, SLRD (RWainwright@slrd.bc.ca).

For more information on being an Emergency Social Services volunteer, please visit: http://ess.bc.ca/index.htm