International Great Shakeout Day is on Thursday, October 21. Courtenay Elementary will be practicing its earthquake drill on that day. While your kids may know what to do in the event of an earthquake, do you know the school’s policy on releasing students to their parents or guardians in the event of an earthquake or other emergency, such as a lock down?
Courtenay Elementary principal Albert Johnson will explain the school’s release procedures and expectations of parents and guardians. To foster discussion about emergency preparedness, executive director of the Courtenay Elementary Community School Society, Shawn Thir, will give a talk on the Great East Japan Earthquake which struck Japan on March 11, 2011. 2021 marks the 10th anniversary of the earthquake.
Shawn was a resident of Japan for 23 years and experienced the earthquake firsthand. He talks about his own experience of the quake, what he did, and how Japan approaches disaster preparedness.
Shawn is not a disaster planning expert. The purpose of this presentation and discussion is to foster awareness and generate discussion around preparing for The Big One given that British Columbia sits upon the Juan de Fuca Plate, which is moving toward and underneath the North American Plate along the Cascadia Subduction Zone.
This talk is open to the public and free of charge. Any donations for the Courtenay Elementary School Society will be graciously accepted.
Note: This multimedia presentation contains photos and video that some may find distressing.
Child-minding will be provided.
Register for free at Eventbrite so that we may choose a room to suit the size of the audience and take appropriate COVID-19 precautionary measures.