$51,000 awarded for Haida Gwaii emergency preparedness

Daajing Giids and Masset will receive a combined $51,135 for emergency preparedness projects, including work on a tsunami siren and expansion of emergency response capacity.

The funding was tucked into a July 21 provincial announcement covering 110 emergency operations centre projects across B.C.

Daajing Giids was approved for $30,000 for emergency operations centre training and a tsunami siren project intended to strengthen the village’s emergency response capacity. Masset will receive $21,135 for equipment for a secondary emergency operations centre, along with training and recruitment.

Emergency operations centres, commonly known as EOCs, are activated during emergencies to help local governments and First Nations co-ordinate resources, support first responders and provide information and services to residents.

“Emergency operations centres are the backbone of a co-ordinated response when an emergency happens,” Emergency Management and Climate Readiness Minister Kelly Greene said in announcing the funding.

Greene said the grants are intended to provide communities with equipment, training and exercises needed to operate their EOCs effectively.

The Daajing Giids funding is particularly notable on Haida Gwaii, where tsunami preparedness remains an important part of community emergency planning. The provincial funding list describes the project as both EOC training and a tsunami siren project, although the announcement does not provide details about where the siren would be located or whether the funding is for a new siren, upgrades or other related work.

In Masset, the funding will support equipment for a secondary EOC as well as training and recruitment aimed at expanding the community’s emergency response capacity.

The two Haida Gwaii projects are part of approximately $3.5 million being distributed through the Community Emergency Preparedness Fund for projects benefiting 138 communities across B.C. The program is funded by the province and administered through the Union of British Columbia Municipalities.

Since the fund was established in 2017, more than $25 million has been directed specifically toward more than 820 emergency operations centre projects. Across all Community Emergency Preparedness Fund streams, the province says it has committed $369 million since 2017.