Photo: Ed Burke
Nearly a year after a deadly heat wave killed nearly 600 people in British Columbia, the provincial government has unveiled a new plan to prepare for and warn of the incoming extreme heat.
With a new BC Heat Response and Alert System (HARS), a provincial panel of experts will assess weather projections in various regions of the province, issuing warnings using a two-tier heat alert system.
“After last year’s event, it is clear that we need to take a look at our response to extreme heat events and take steps to ensure that we are prepared for more of these events in the future.” , Emergency Preparedness Minister Mike Farnworth said Monday.
The new system begins with a heat warning that will indicate temperatures are rising and are expected to exceed regional thresholds for minimum daytime and nighttime temperatures.
In BC, the regional temperature thresholds are:
- Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island: daytime high of 29 ° C, night low of 16 ° C
- Fraser Valley: daytime high of 33 ° C, night low of 17 ° C
- Southeast (including South Okanagan): daytime high of 35 ° C, night low of 18 ° C
- Northeast: daytime high of 29 ° C, night low of 14 ° C
- Northwest: daytime high of 28 C, nightly low of 13
Once these temperature thresholds are met and expected to increase over a three-day period, a newly formed BC Heat Committee will call to send an emergency transmission alert through the national emergency preparedness system. text alert. This is different from the warnings of floods or forest fires, which are currently issued at the municipal or regional level.
Heat warnings are expected to occur up to three times each summer, while extreme heat emergencies are expected to hit the province once or twice a decade.
“This is not the silver bullet itself,” Farnworth said, noting that the media and door-to-door notices would help bolster the warning system.
But as this unfolds on the ground, experts like Ryan Reynolds are wary of fully approving the latest measures in the province.
Reynolds, a pioneering researcher and technologist in disaster preparedness applications at the University of British Columbia, says over-reliance on technology can quickly exclude large sections of the population.
“It’s great for young people in their 30s and 40s who have their phones in their pockets. But not necessarily for people like my parents, “he said of the text alert system.” We need other things to fill in the gaps. “
Reynolds said the province’s plan to provide guidance on how to plan ahead is a big and important step forward, but much will depend on the consistency of these messages from one municipality to another.
“They’re trying to do as many things as they can. The problem with this is that smaller things can escape through the cracks,” he said. “The test will be to see this at stake.”