On December 20, 2018 a massive wind storm hit Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands. Over 100,000 people in the region lost power for days. There was an unprecedented level of destruction and the Southern Gulf Islands were hit particularly hard.
From almost all accounts, BC Hydro delivered. With most of Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands blanketed in darkness, their “all hands on deck” approach to reconnecting residents was very appreciated.
In addition, residents and emergency service providers joined together to support each other and their neighbourhoods. While there was tremendous damage to vegetation and property, we are fortunate that there were no major injuries or loss of life.
Thank you for sharing your experiences with my office. Your stories are an important part of the debrief that is already underway.
Local governments are responsible for delivering emergency response to our communities. The provincial government, through Emergency Management BC (EMBC), supports the municipalities on the Saanich Peninsula, and the Capital Regional District, on the Gulf Islands.
Over the past few weeks, I have met with the CRD and Islands Trust elected representatives, officials from two Ministries (Public Safety & Solicitor General/Citizens’ Services) and Telus.
It is important to discuss how our communities were affected, hear constituent concerns and review/update best practices as we move forward.
In the coming days and weeks, communities and service providers will come together to complete a comprehensive debrief. These formal processes are far more thorough than is the work that is highlighted here. But, it is important for you to know that there is an effort at multiple levels to improve the response.
How did the provincial government respond?
They didn’t. The provincial government did not communicate with residents to acknowledge the impact of the storm and to ease people’s anxieties and discomfort.
They have acknowledged this gap and the need to improve communications, emergency plans, response times and communication opportunities.
How did my office respond?
Admittedly, our office was no exception. While my constituency office has no official role in a situation such as the one in December, we were not prepared for the emergency and ensuing crisis. We realize we can be much more responsive, improve communication, and better support our communities. We are working to learn from this experience and adapt our processes for the future.
Our next steps will be to develop an internal plan to ensure that we are more prepared to communicate where you can find the resources you may need to access.
Do you know there are community emergency plans in place? Do you know who delivers services or what to do in a disaster? Another role of my office is to promote higher levels of preparedness before a disaster. We will continue to develop our capacity in this area.
Ill-Communication
The biggest gap we have heard so far is in communication. While BC Hydro delivered exceptional service and information updates, constituents have expressed substantial concerns about the dealing with Telus. The telecommunications challenges go deeper than Telus, but clearly they, and we, have a lot of work to do to improve digital communications.
One of the most important take-aways is that we need to create resilient analog communication networks. While improving access to digital services is a priority, they cannot be relied upon in a crisis. So, ensuring we invest in strengthening neighbourhood support and interpersonal networks to distribute information efficiently, is important.
What can we do as individuals?
My office received an email from a neighbourhood POD leader on Salt Spring Island outlining the resources that should be put into place in order to be personally prepared for upcoming extreme weather events. I have shared it below. While you may not be able to deliver on all aspects of this list, it highlights important things to think about. And, perhaps you can develop a plan to increase your personal resilience over time.
Suggestions for emergency planning:
Let the recent storm created crisis on our island serve as a wakeup call. While we seem to have survived pretty well as a community we must not be complacent and must plan for future emergencies. We are told we need to be able to manage on our own for at least two weeks. The following is a list, far from definitive, of what I believe covers the main issues, for two people.
The first thing to do in a disaster, after ensuring you and your property are safe, is to check on your immediate neighbours. If you need help and have no other means of getting attention, blow your car’s horn or the equivalent repeatedly.
Water
For two of us and we used 10 gallons a day during the recent power outage. Of that, 5 gallons covered drinking, cooking and sponge baths. Flushing used about 4 gallons and I have added 1 gallon in order to be conservative. I suggest each household needs to store 100-200 gallons of water as a matter of course. A standard rain barrel holds 50 gallons. A hot water tank typically holds 40 gallons (make sure you know how to drain it and remember to switch it off before doing so, so that you don’t burn out the elements when the power comes back on). You should boil the water before drinking it and can add 1 teaspoon of bleach to 5 gallons for further purification.
Cooking and heat
Ensure you always have enough wood or propane to heat your house and for cooking. Failing that you may need to have a camping stove with enough propane containers as a standby. Remember that you can also cook on a BBQ so always have a spare propane tank. (make sure you use outside to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning). Kerosene heaters are also a good alternative in order to keep warm.
Light
Always store a good supply of candles, oil lanterns, flashlights and batteries. Propane camping lanterns are very effective.
First aid and prescriptions
A good first aid kit is always essential. Don’t forget a supply of any drugs you need to take.
Power
A small generator which is enough to run a fridge and freezer for a couple of hours a day. A 1,500 – 2,000 watt unit can be purchased locally for under $500 and will do the job. You will need to store 10-20 gallons of gas which needs to be kept “fresh” by replacing it every 3 months or so or by adding fuel treatment such as “seafoam”. Always keep your car’s fuel tanks at least half full.
Food
If you have a generator then a well-stocked freezer is a good idea. Dry and canned goods are essential. Take a hard look at your stores, assess your needs and prepare accordingly. Don’t forget to provide for any pets.
Communication
The telephone did not operate during the recent crisis. Cell phones are great, if you can charge them (generator and/or car). In an emergency they are often ineffective due to overwhelming demand. A battery operated radio is essential. “Walkie talkie” hand held radios are a good idea. They are monitored by our local emergency services and are available locally for under $100. If you have access to the internet then the Driftwood and Exchange websites are very helpful as is social media (Facebook was a great resource). Keep in regular contact with your neighbours and your POD leader.
Other
• store essentials in an outbuilding, if possible, since your main house may become inaccessible;
• Have cash on hand since credit cards may not work, even if you can get into town;
• Have a “grab bag” containing all essential items and need to evacuate. eg: passports, credit cards, cash, medication, cell phone etc.
Thanks so much, Adam. You have such a good grasp of the situation as we experienced it here on Galiano and the other areas so badly affected by the Dec. 20 storm.
Thank you Sarah!
Dear Adam Olsen, I saw you & heard you at the Protest Tuesday concerning RCMP arresting 14 Natives for controlling their own sovereign territory in BC. Thank you and sonia for being there. South island is a different topic and I don’t know how you can influence BC ferries to increase service when they are cutting back from small islands, but people have been calling out in vain for a ferry from Duncan to Swartz bay to allow that regular traffic coming and going to Vancouver which will also accept grateful commuters that travel from Victoria to Duncan. This service provides safe reliable route REDUCING traffic on the Malahat plus an alternative when the Malahat is closed due to accidents or icing or windy conditions. Cheaper than second road.
I appreciate your comments Jennifer. The Ministry of Transportation is undertaking a thorough South Vancouver Island multi-modal transportation study. Hopefully these ideas will be considered and tested in that process.
I think everyone did a really amazing job getting things up and going again quickly. One thing i noticed that could have been done better, perhaps– is that just clearing the roads should have been prioritized before getting power back tot he neighbor hoods. Because some roads were left dangerously inaccessible( unless you drove under fallen trees caught up in power lines etc) . If those roads had been cleared, people could have left to go to meeting points where services and care was provided. In some areas it was over 9 days before their roads were cleared. So i would like to see focus on getting safe access/egress before power.
Also really agree we need more on the ground communication. On the gulf islands, even SSI, lots of people dont have cell phones, or dont have data on the cell phone, dont get signal for cell phones etc. But so much emergency info went out by the internet– and whole large sections of the population saw none of that with power and modems down. Should be postering, door to door etc… So maybe pods can work on that for next time.
I am also concerned about the fire hazards of all the branches down, along the forest floor beside roads etc. And the additional fire hazard if everyone on SSI starts storing gallons and gallons of fuel in addition to their big wood piles, and extra kerosene for lamps . Steps will be needed to ensure this is done safely, not just tucked under their house.
I also wonder about people living in illegal suites– which is a lot of the ssi population. I bet they wont join pods, cause they cant feel safe in essence “advertising” how many people are living on a property when there should not be so many people etc. So that presents a safety issue, if emergency services think only one person is at a house, and there are actually 8 on the property or whatever… we need to make sure that signing up for services and volunteering does not result in housing insecurity, and that people know that, so they will sign on to the neighborhood groups.
Lastly, we all were just becoming cavalier about the many, many fallen wires, assuming they were not live. People were going under draping ones,driving over them, chainsawing around them, walking through bushes full of downed lines etc. We are lucky there were no electrocutions. Some way to better indicate what lines are live, and what not, would be good. Otherwise islanders now are going to get hurt next time– if they approach on the principle well, it didnt eletrocute me last time so it must be safe… No one, no one at all, did the stay 10 meteres back thing.
anyways, it was a good drill. I hope the government provides bc hydro with funds from and for emergencies, rather than having all our hydro bills go up for the cost of repairs.
thanks!
You make great points about fallen wires.
I have heard this point made a few times recently. BC Hydro should clear downed wires first. Then go back and fix them. This will allow for emergency routes to be cleared.
We ended up not having power for 8 nights. Our family would have appreciated yourself or the Premier come to Salt Spring and have a tour of the problems on Xmas day and serve us some hot soup. We felt completely forgotten during the holidays while your government had your holidays.
Next time spread some cheer. For many of us we had a cold xmas which didn’t feel very cheery.
Well done for responding to our concerns Adam. There was a community meeting last Sunday and already changes are in the works to help us prepare for the eventuality of the next windstorm. We are a tad cavalier that we will be okay. Better to prepare for two weeks of shelter in place. Andrea Russell is correct. Downed wires are dangerous. We should thank our lucky stars that no one was killed walking over, driving over
or sawing trees laying over wires. We can stay put for a day or so until the professionals arrive.
I am glad you have been proactive on this situation Adam. Thank you.
Thank you Adam for your prompt attention to our concerns. There are many steps that we need to take in order to be prepared for the next storm.
It has been brought to my attention that I need to offer some clarity with respect to the portion of this blog post regarding “the provincial response.”
The professionals at Emergency Management BC did excellent work and it should be acknowledged. I raise my hands to them and all the emergency service personnel and first responders.
I have heard the criticism from many residents on the Southern Gulf Islands regarding the state of preparedness and response of my own constituency office. I accept that criticism and we are already working to improve our operation. In addition, there has been criticism of the lack of public acknowledgement of the impact of the storm on the communities in the Southern Gulf Islands from provincial government politicians. I personally shared this with Ministry officials at a meeting in early January.
I did not do enough in this blog post to differentiate the nuance. My sincere apologies for that. I will do better in the future to make sure I am being sufficiently clear and sensitive to the good work that is being done.
Adam