THURSDAY FEBRUARY 7, 2013
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Official newspaper of the Save-On-Foods Oceanside Generals
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ROCKS ARE FLYING
LONG WEEKEND ON THE WAY
Men’s provincial curling championship in full swing
Your guide to fun things to do in our region during Family Day weekend
A19
A27
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS
Info slow getting here Parksville city councillor tells her tale of panic over October quake AUREN RUVINSKY
writer@pqbnews.com
Minutes count in an emergency. Parksville councillor Carrie Powell-Davidson is raising concerns over the lack of information from provincial emergency co-ordinators after recent earthquakes, and the very personal way it affected her. There was an earthquake off the coast of Haida Gwaii on October 27 of last year at 8:04 p.m. Powell-Davidson said she didn’t feel the quake, but about 10 minutes later her daughter, working as a paramedic in Gold River, called to tell her about it. “I immediately went to the television to try to find information, obviously concerned about my daughter,� Powell-Davison said Monday at a city council meeting. “At 8:35 she phoned me again and told me they were in the process of evacuating the town and suddenly her phone went dead.� For two hours, Powell-Davidson said she was on the verge of panic as she struggled to find concrete information, checking the Internet and eventually calling Parksville emergency representatives, only to find they were just as frustrated, and dealing with the same lack of information. While the West Coast Alaska Warning Centre issued the first bulletins within eight minutes and an official warning soon after, Emergency Management B.C. (EMBC), who local emergency services follow, did not issue a warning for another 39 minutes. The small tsunami passed with little or no damage, but Powell-Davidson points out that in itself was important information. “Then I took my mom hat off and put on my council hat and thought, this isn’t right,� she later explained to The NEWS. “EMBC initiated their warning system and Parksville received notification 71 minutes after the earthquake. A few days later, EMBC released a letter reminding local governments to ensure they have done their part to prepare for an emergency or disaster. The letter tries to justify the provincial response,� she told council, clearly frustrated. See RESPONSE, page A4
LISSA ALEXANDER PHOTO
A TIME FOR FAMILIES: A local family spends a day in their beloved Rathtrevor Provincial Park last week, a place they may consider spending some time during B.C.’s first Family Day on Monday. From back left, Jesse and Aidan Kroell, Hayley Charnock and mom Gaynor, sister Sasha and friend Bridget McGibbon (front). See pages A19-A21 for more on the Family Day long weekend in the Parksville Qualicum Beach region.
1" 3 , 4 7 * - - & t 7" / $ 0 6 7 & 3 * 4 - " / %
Friday Feb. 22, 2013
Spend your evening tasting BC’s best wineries and local cuisine provided by some of the regions finest restaurants and purveyors of food. THE
5JDLFUT BSF 0WFSOJHIU QBDLBHFT BSF BWBJMBCMF Visit www.parksvilleuncorked.com for more info. & events. 250-248-8999
www.beachclubbc.com