Emergency Preparedness and the Strata Community

“Designed and marketed increasingly for profit over quality, and as a commodity over a basic need, to continuously deliver energy, resources and media to, and remove waste from, compartmentalized bubbles, within which it is easy to forget the cost and impact of its construction on global sustainability and other people in the world, or that there are other people in the world.”

This describes not a single strata corporation on the planet (one would hope). However it starkly reminds of the potential fragility of our society during disasters.

Annually each May, the Provincial and Federal Governments organize an emergency preparedness week and the following web sites are available year round:

Provincial Government: http://www.embc.gov.bc.ca/index.htm

Federal Government: http://www.getprepared.gc.ca/index-eng.aspx

Risks range from localized and short term to quite catastrophic. The Carrington Solar Flare of 1859 destroyed what existed of the early electrical infrastructure, and a similar event today would be very serious. The earthquake of March 28, 1964 in Alaska caused catastrophic tsunami waves and serious damage to homes and infrastructure in some coastal communities in BC.

To complement the websites and programs our Provincial and Federal Governments provide, as well as reasonable precaution and preparedness on the part of everybody individually, possibly the most important consideration of resilience and disaster preparedness is that of community. We too rarely consider strata corporations’ importance in society; they are a fourth level of government, and potentially form much of society’s fabric. Regardless of the risks we face, the best measure and defense is a strong community that knows one another and has a general sense of needs and roles.

Communal gatherings such as the AGM, summer barbeques, spring garage sales, work parties and the like contribute to this, but are infrequent events. As a preparedness and community champion in your building, you could go a long way by keeping residents informed and inviting discussion.

C & C Property Group Ltd. provides property management services to strata corporations in the Metro Vancouver area.

By Neil Sideen