GN Community Updates

In the last few  years we have seen flooding, earthquakes, house fires and mud slides have a severe impact on our lives. Around the world we've witnessed tsunamis, volcanoes, huge earthquakes, disease outbreaks, and more, and it's only a matter of time before we are hit by another emergency. But, have no fear, YOU can be prepared!

 

Yesterday (May 8) the Gwa'sala-'Nakwaxda'xw Emergency Management Committee held its first info session as part of Emergency Preparedness Week. The session was held in Memorial Park in the hopes of attracting the attention of people passing by, and it seemed to work - about 50 or more people stopped by throughout the day to chat, grab a pamphlet, learn about emergency prepardness, and have a bowl of Cathy Swain's delicious Yu'sa. (Thanks Cathy!)

 

The Emergency Management Committee is a group of staff and community members who meet regularly to discuss emergency preparedness for the Gwa'sala-'Nakwaxda'xw community. We work with the GN Emergency Plan, we learn what to do in the event of an emergency, and we get training to help us gain more skills and knowledge about responding to emergencies. We also meet with others, like Cori Nielssen (the lady in the brown jacket in this picture, above) who coordinates emergency preparedness for the Mt. Waddington Regional District.

 

We follow a system called the BC Emergency Response and Management System (BCERMS) which is followed by others across the province, like the fire department, ambulance, RCMP, and other governments. This means that we could all easily help each other out and communicate in an emergency. 

 

Here is a picture of Bob Swain with a diagram of an Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) which shows everyone's jobs during an emergency. Under this system, Les Taylor would be the EOC Director (person in charge) during an emergency, with Bob Swain as his backup. I would be 

leading operations, which is communicating with the people at the site of the emergency (fire, ambulance, etc.). Cathy Swain would be leading planning, to try and keep everything organized and well-documented during and after the emergency. Lucy Hemphill would be leading finance, keeping track of all the expenditures during and after an emergency. Conrad Browne and Lorna Henderson would be in charge of logistics, figuring out where to get equipment, personnel, food, etc.

 

Don Felkley, Joye Walkus, Natasha Walkus and Karla Broadfoot would be in ESS or Emergency Support Services, taking care of people, providing support, blankets, etc. at the Wakas Hall.

 

For the info session, we put together a pamphlet with a map of Tsulquate showing the tsunami zone and where to go in an emergency (Wakas Hall). There is also information about what each household should have in a kit, so they could look after themselves for the first three days of an emergency. These pamphlets are available at the band office.

 

If you want to learn more about emergency preparedness, there is a town hall info session at the Civic Centre tonight, from 7-9 p.m. and Bob will be there, along with other emergency preparedness people from the North Island. You are also welcome to drop in on our Emergency Management Committee meetings on the first Tuesday of every month from 10-11 am at the Wakas Hall, or contact Bob Swain at (250) 230-0087

 

For more information about how you can prepare for an emergency, check out these websites:

 

Jessie Hemphill

www.gwanak.info