The Columbia Shuswap Regional is looking to identify evacuation routes that will help with emergency planning for natural and technological disasters.
On Wednesday, July 3, the regional district posted on its website a request for proposals from “qualified consulting firms with experience and knowledge in emergency planning to develop a detailed evacuation route plan” for the South Shuswap, the North Shuswap, Falkand/Deep Creek/Ranchero and Sicamous/Rural Malakwa.
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“(The evacuation plan) is critically important for our communities because there are a number of communities that are fairly isolated with one road in and one road out that require thought put into air evacuation or water evacuation, as well as the traditional land transportation,” said Derek Sutherland, director of Protective Services for the CSRD.
The CSRD is looking for a proposal that would take into consideration fires and floods, as well as technological disasters like a train derailment or an overturned tanker which could cut off a community.
Not only will the proposal address evacuation routes but also how the information is disseminated to residents.
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“A large part of this plan is not just identifying what evacuation routes are, but communicating with residents where our muster-points are, where our staging areas are how we are going to get them out,” Sutherland said.
Proposals will be accepted until 2 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 8, at the CSRD office in Salmon Arm.
@CameronJHT
Cameron.thomson@saobserver.net
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