The Quadra Island Emergency Support Services Team (QIESS) Will be conducting an emergency reception centre exercise on the afternoon of Sunday, Feb. 23 at the Quadra Island Community Centre.
An emergency reception centre is a facility or location that can be used for many different purposes, such as gathering during temporary displacement, information sharing, or a staging site for volunteer disaster relief workers. Although every resident is encouraged to have their own plan and an emergency kit, Emergency Support Services (ESS) is there to help. In an emergency, people who are forced to evacuate their homes may be directed to a reception centre to register and receive assistance.
A reception centre is a safe place where people can go to receive:
• Information about the emergency;
• Assistance meeting their basic needs (food, clothing, shelter); and
• Help planning their recovery from the disaster.
A reception centre is usually activated when the number of evacuees generally exceed 12 and the event typically involves multiple dwellings. (e.g., neighbourhood or apartment block).
“In 2019 the Quadra Island Emergency Program volunteers put in over 3,500 volunteer hours which is an outstanding commitment from a wonderful group of volunteers,” Jim Abram, SRD Electoral Area C Director, says in a press release. “Members from the QIESS team have also recently deployed to assist Emergency Support Services responses in Port Hardy and Dease Lake.”
“This exercise is important for QIESS members to have a solid understanding of the steps involved in activating a Reception Centre, and to practice those steps. The exercise is also an opportunity for our team to prepare for an emergency scenario, including the processes and procedures set out in our ESS Activation Plan,” says Judy Hagen, Quadra Island’s volunteer ESS Director.
The Strathcona Regional District is a partnership of four electoral areas and five municipalities providing services to approximately 44,000 residents.
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