The Regional District of Fraser-Fort George wants all of its municipalities to work together to make a collaborative, emergency management program.
Right now, each community has a separate response plan to any natural disasters. By creating a uniform program, Administrative Officer Jim Martin says communities can better help one another.
“We’re really trying to reach an economy of scale and efficiency in how we educate and how we prepare for emergency management.”
The RDFFG conducts its own Hazard Vulnerability Analysis, which looks every disastrous possibility, from wildfires in Prince George and earthquakes in the Robson Valley to tsunamis in Mackenzie.
“We’re trying to, first of all, understand the threats are then from there we’re thinking about how is it that we react and how do we keep people safe and how we keep infrastructure safe. Some forethought into all of that so the day that an emergency, if that happens, we’re not going ‘what do we do?!’ We know we’re going to do.”
The Regional District has helped with 20 disasters over the past decade. 12 of those were split evenly between flooding and fires, while five were due to ice jams.
Council unanimously agreed to partake in this plan.
The RDFFG hopes to have a working group this summer, then a presentation for partners in the fall, the service established in early 2018, and finally implement the plan later that year.
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