Annual Great British Columbia ShakeOut earthquake drill event set for this week

The Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) has issued a reminder for all British Columbia residents that Thursday, October 20, is the 11th Annual Great British Columbia ShakeOut province-wide earthquake drill event.

According to the IBC, the ShakeOut is an opportunity to practice how to be safe when an earthquake hits. Developing the muscle memory response of “Drop, Cover, and Hold On” allows individuals to react quickly by getting to a safe space during an earthquake.

The bureau also gave warnings that while specific earthquake hazards depend on an individual’s location, “British Columbia is at high risk of earthquake damage in relation to the rest of Canada.”

“With a 30% chance of an earthquake striking southwestern British Columbia within the next 50 years, we encourage all British Columbians to join us for the world’s largest earthquake drill,” said IBC Pacific and Western vice president Aaron Sutherland. “By joining this year’s annual ShakeOut event in person or virtually, we can all become better prepared for an earthquake.”

“ShakeOut is the world’s largest earthquake drill with nearly 500,000 British Columbians and millions of people worldwide already registered to participate in this year’s event,” said Naomi Yamamoto, president of the BC Earthquake Alliance, which organized the event. “Now is the time to update our emergency preparedness plans and practice Drop, Cover and Hold-On.”

Registrations for participation in this year’s ShakeOut drill are still open on the official website.

Read more: ShakeOut BC a success says IBC

IBC had previously noted that last year’s iteration of the ShakeOut BC drew more than 730,000 British Columbians, calling the event a resounding success.