City of Prince Rupert to join other coastal communities in High Ground Hike plans next week

The annual Tsunami preparedness exercise the High Ground Hike is set to take place next week and as part of the event, the City of Prince Rupert is joining in with a coastal project to chronicle the participation of residents.

Towards more understanding of what to do in the event of a Tsunami warning, the city is taking part in the #HighGroundSelfie22 contest, the way the project will roll out is explained below:

The event, coordinated by PreparedBC across the Province and co-hosted by Prince Rupert is encouraging coastal residents of BC to get informed about tsunami preparedness, review your emergency kit or start one if you don’t have one, and have some fun in the process. 

It's easy to participate, and when you enter the #HighGroundSelfie22 contest, you could win one of 47 prizes from PreparedBC. 

 First, go to one of our tsunami-safe location(s) at: 

The corner of Dry Dock Road and 6th Avenue East 

The corner of Bill Murray Drive and Stiles Place 

The Rec Complex (our emergency muster station) 

Your house! (So long as you don’t live on Beach Place or Water Street– this counts as high ground. We’re making it easy for you.) 

Take a selfie at high ground (our tsunami-safe location).

Once you have your photo ready, share it between April 10-16, post your selfie to Facebook or Twitter, tag @PreparedBC and use the hashtag #HighGroundSelfie22. 

For much of the city, the safest place to be is where you are at, with only the actual waterfront areas or any potential risk, however, with Tsunami Warnings does come a responsibility to keep emergency access open in the community, something that Prince Rupert Fire Chief Jeff Beckwith makes note of as part of next week's practice run.

"Prince Rupert is lucky among most coastal communities, because the majority of our lived areas are elevated away from the shoreline and we are somewhat protected by the outlying islands, so our risk is lower than most. That said, we want to encourage better understanding – so that residents know to stay away from the waterfront and also from the hospital so they don’t impede emergency traffic during a tsunami alert.”

North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice, who in her role as Parliamentary Secretary for Emergency Preparedness launches the annual Tsunami preparedness initiative, noted of the Prince Rupert efforts towards the event for 2022.

“As Parliamentary Secretary for Emergency Preparedness and a Prince Rupert resident, I’m glad to see our community among those looking to inform residents about what to do in case of a tsunami. “Having the right information and a plan for what to do in case of an emergency is of the utmost importance, and that’s what the High Ground Hike initiative tries to drive home for people every year.”

Learn more about the city's information flow on Tsunami preparation here.

The most recent Tsunami Advisory issued for the Prince Rupert area came in mid January of this year following a volcanic eruption on the South Pacific Island of Tonga. 

That advisory was lifted within four hours after any potential risk to the region had passed.

A look at past seismic and tsunami notes can be explored here.