Trans Mountain is participating in the Great British Columbia ShakeOut, Canada’s largest “Drop, Cover, and Hold-On” earthquake drill. The annual province-wide event is a chance for our workforce from across the pipeline to refresh themselves on emergency preparedness plans and supplies and to secure spaces in the event of an earthquake. The primary goal of ShakeOut is to bring awareness of the dangers associated with earthquakes and to practice in the event of one. ShakeOut is the perfect annual reminder to practice and review both personal and organizational readiness plans and to freshen up on your “Drop, Cover and Hold-On Technique.”
For this year’s ShakeOut, teams at Trans Mountain are participating by practicing a “Drop, Cover and Hold-On” drill, and by reviewing the importance of earthquake and tsunami readiness. We are covering topics on preparedness including what to do after “the shake,” and actions to take if they are outside or in a car when the shaking starts.
Although most earthquakes in BC are too small to be noticed, more than 3,000 earthquakes occur in British Columbia each year and the risk of one being big enough to cause significant damage is very real.
Are you prepared for an earthquake? Do you know how you protect yourself or your family? It’s important to react quickly and to practice often. You may only have a matter of seconds to protect yourself from falling objects. When the shaking starts, look around and identify a sturdy piece of furniture against an interior wall. If you are outside when the shaking starts, you should find a clear spot away from buildings, trees and streetlights, get down and wait until the shaking stops.
Trans Mountain’s number one priority is safety. To ensure safety across our pipeline, we’ve developed comprehensive safety, spill prevention and emergency response plans to make sure we’re protecting the public, the environment and our employees, this includes preparing for seismic events.
Trans Mountain proactively prepares for seismic events through measures of design, hazard assessment and code regulations. These measures include regular inspections by professional geoscience and geotechnical engineering consultants, detailed site studies, and continuous monitoring and mitigation.
Trans Mountain is confident that these approaches ensure our pipeline and facilities are able to withstand seismic activity today and in the future. We encourage everyone to join Trans Mountain and participate in this year’s BC ShakeOut and practice how to be prepared during an earthquake.