FEATURES Travelling in an Emergency Are you aware of where you can and can't drive, and will it matter? By Kevin Welsh, Features Editor Ao NEN DISASTER RESPONSE ROUTE EMERGENCY VEHICLES ONLY DURING A DISASTER —_ Nee 4 “Disaster Response Routes—A dedicated route for emergency responders in a dis- aster situation...planning ahead for a rapid response...to you.” —Ministry of Transportation website In the wake of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita, and with the Sri Lanka tsunami still fresh in our minds, it’s only natural that Lower Mainland residents should turn their attention back to The Big One. As you all well know, Vancouver basically sits on a major fault line, and sooner or later an apocalyptic earthquake will hit. We’ve been told for decades that it’s inevitable. The Big One is on its way and we'd better be prepared. It is hard to imagine something so devastating hap- pening here, to ourselves, our friends, and our loved ones. Many hear the term, “sooner or later,’ and take comfort from thinking about the “later” part. Yet Hurricane Katrina’s absolute battering of New Orleans has brought fresh images of Mother Nature’s fury too close to home. All of this begs the question: How prepared are we for The Big One? The good news is that Greater Vancouver is one of the best-prepared cities in the world fora natural disaster. One may have to look no further than the performance of Vancouver’s much- | trumpeted but little-used Urban Search and Rescue Team in New Orleans, who saved almost 100 lives in one week, and a few of those days were spent pinned down by gunfire (one hopes Vancouver residents would respond with a little more grace—but we won't really know until it happens). Going further than other cities, Greater Vancouver is the first city in the world to prepare for a disaster by mapping out emergency response routes: designed to get emer- gency and medical supplies and rescue vehicles to multiple locations in a hurry. But this is also where things get a little murky. We’ve surely all seen the official Disaster Response Route signs littered around the Lower Mainland—the ones with the beige pyramid segmented into lines. There is also a smaller sign, posted below it and featuring a smaller font, which reads Emergency Vehicles Only During A Disaster. The directive is plain and simple. Yet, I was stunned when I was speaking with a TransLink driver, and he told me, “You know, if some- thing happens here, you’ve got to stay off those roads.” Somehow, two and two had never made four. I was perplexed, thinking about making my way through a dam- aged city, trying to get to my loved ones, and having to use secondary and back roads. Really, it makes sense: Clearing the main routes is essential so that emergency and supply vehicles can exclusively use them. In a state of emer- gency, mobility will be vital for license.” You kind of would think that— but apparently nobody does, or at least they don’t make a large point of it. The one person who did know that just hap- pened to have been involved in a conver- sation on the subject earlier in the week, and the gentleman she was speaking with had shown her his pass, granting him access to the Emergency Response Routes. A pass? If 14 out of 15 people aren’t aware that Emergency Response Routes are restricted in the event of a disaster, emergency and medical personnel could have a rather large problem on their hands. Should a major earthquake strike, people are going to be desperate to get home or get to their loved ones. That means they will probably use the most direct route available, which, coincidently enough, will be reserved for emergency vehicles. I find it hard to believe that authorities will be in a position to check your pass—they will have to be every bit as organized and prepared as they claim they are. Officials and authorities in the United States, the state of Louisiana, and the city of New Orleans knew Hurricane Katrina was coming, and they knew how powerful she was. Yet, we all saw what ended up happening to the bayou city: anarchy and destruction. Officials and opfeatures@gmail.com residents alike were caught off guard by the sheer power of the storm, and the amount of time it took to organize and mobilize was woefully inadequate, result- ing in the mass loss of life. However, during the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the performance by Vancouver's Urban Search and Rescue Team proved to be the elite unit they claimed to be. That type of organization, response, and results is reassuring, espe- cially if it is indicative of how prepared the city of Vancouver is. Yet, all the planning and organization could quickly be for naught if the public, as a whole, aren’t aware of the restricted access. Some Emergency Response Routes will be used for controlled evacu- ation, but many will simply be off-limits (unless, of course, the masses simply choose to ignore this). The Ministry of Transportation advises people to listen to the radio to find out which routes are open to the public. Some people will cer- tainly stay put and listen to the news, many will not, and many more may be in no position to do so. The Provincial Emergency Programs website is www.pep.bc.ca. Here, residents can access all the information they need to prepare for the inevitable. I suggest we all look at it soon, and prepare as the province has done. By the time it hap- pens, it’ll be too late to find out. Lower Mainland-Disaster Response Route Network getting food, water, life-saving / equipment, and the injured to their various locations. However, the problem seems to be that despite the accompanying signs, most people I’ve spoken to aren’t aware they have to stay clear of the Emergency Response Routes. I approached 15 people and asked them if they were aware of the Emergency Response Routes and their limited access during emergencies. Of the 15, 14 of them responded with an animated, loud response; a slack-jawed, blank look; or sim- ple, thoughtful confusion. One Douglas College student simply stated, “You'd think they’d teach you that when you got your WEST ONSTRICT OF ss VANCOUVER NORTH VANCOUVER seus HoT Disaster Response Route a cnn ae j sooee Municipal Disaster Response Route & i Muster Points ~ PORT cogurrLaM © Large Vesset ‘ a \ vont @ Medium Vessel aon = Small Vesset jas iesdld .. sunuasy ; he” VANCOUVER oe . -_ NEW” ES, OTE I va coe