PEP Rally: Emergency Preparedness in British Columbia.

The Provincial Emergency Program (PEP), whose headquarters are in Kamloops, B.C., is responsible for ensuring municipalities have effective emergency response plans in place in case a community is overwhelmed by natural disaster or disease.

In British Columbia, the threat of a massive earthquake is ever-present due to the locked tectonic plates of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Plate in the Cascadia Subduction Zone off the west coast of the province.

Following the recent tsunami disaster in Japan, PEP employees were active in the recovery effort and are pinpointing areas that could be improved in case a similar event takes place in B.C.

Although in non-critical times PEP offices may seem empty, once disaster strikes they transform into a bustling hive of life-saving activity.

Produced by Eric Zimmer, Fionna Tollovsen, Ryan Parker and Andrea Rendall.

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