Emergency Management

The District of Kent and Village of Harrison Hot Springs are partners in the Kent-Harrison Joint Emergency Program (KHJEP). This program addresses the four pillars of emergency management:

Mitigation and prevention,
Preparedness,
Response, and
Recovery.

The KHJEP covers approximately 174 square kilometres with a permanent population of over 7,500 residents, with thousands more visiting during the peak tourist season.

Together, the municipalities fund a part-time Emergency Program Coordinator, a volunteer Deputy Emergency Program Coordinator, and support a team of volunteers in the Emergency Support Services program. The municipalities also maintain an Emergency Operations Centre as well as backup facilities.

The potential hazards in the District of Kent include flooding, wildfires, landslides, and earthquakes. While we cannot predict when disaster will strike, we do have the power to be as prepared as possible.

Mitigation

Mitigation projects are either undertaken by the Emergency Management team or other departments within the District of Kent, such as the Engineering Department. Recent projects include construction of the Hammersley Pump Station and a study to identify an emergency evacuation route from the Rockwell Drive area.

Rockwell Drive Emergency Evacuation Route

The District of Kent received grant funding from the Union of BC Municipalities community Emergency Preparedness Fund for a study to find three potential evacuation routes from the Rockwell Drive area. During this project, the Rockwell Drive to Lougheed Highway option was identified as the preferred route. Read the full report to learn more.

Preparedness

Be Prepared

Being prepared means:

Knowing the risks in your community and the most appropriate way to respond to them.
Have a plan for what your family will do, who will they contact and where will they go in the event of an emergency and practice it regularly.
Have a 72-hour emergency kit with enough non-perishable food, water, medications, warm clothing and comfort items for all family members. You should also have a ready-to-go kit in case you need to evacuate your home quickly.

The Provincial government offers tips for emergency preparedness, response and recovery on their website. Use this resource to prepare your family, property or small business so that in the event of an emergency you will have a plan and be better able to cope with stress.

Build an Emergency Kit

Every home should have an emergency kit. It should contain enough food and water for at least three days, up to one week per person, and essential items like a first aid kit, flashlight and radio. Consider having a ‘grab and go' kit in your vehicle and at work as well. The full list of emergency kit supplies is quick and inexpensive to assemble and should be kept within easy reach in your home.

Emergency Social Services (ESS) Program

ESS provides short-term services to preserve the emotional and physical well being of evacuees and response workers in emergency situations. Assistance includes food, lodging, clothing, emotional support and family reunification.

Apply to become an ESS Volunteer.

Farm Emergency Preparedness

During an emergency, the District will assist farmers if possible, with the priority on the protection of life, public health and critical infrastructure.

Each farmer is responsible to have a plan in place for their own farm and livestock. The Dairy Emergency Management Guide and Farm Flood Readiness Toolkit are valuable resources that will assist you in putting a plan in place.

Response

During an emergency or disaster, the District of Kent's response is guided by eight response goals:

Provide for the safety and health of all responders
Save lives
Reduce suffering
Protect infrastructure
Protect property
Protect the environment
Reduce economic and social losses

Recovery

Recovery measures are initiated as quickly as possible, generally right after life safety issues have been addressed and include:

Temporary housing
Monitoring of health care needs, including psychosocial needs, and continued provision of health services
Environmental impact assessment
Economic recovery
Planning and reconstruction

Additional Information

Sandbagging Information

Residents within the District of Kent are required to provide their own sandbags and sand.

The District may be able to provide a limited supply of sandbags and sand at the Municipal gravel pit on Cemetery Road or other suitable location. The quantity will be limited and will be available on a first come first served basis. Staff may set reasonable limits for the number of sandbags to be given for each property.

Once the supply is gone the District may not be able to supply more sand depending on the situation and threat circumstances.

Sandbagging Tips

Sandbagging is one of the most versatile flood fighting tools and is a simple, effective way to prevent or reduce flood water damage, when done correctly. If your property is prone to flooding, please take the necessary measures to protect structures, equipment and materials before flooding is imminent.

Construct the sandbag dike on high ground, as close as possible to your home or building. By being closer to your home or building, fewer bags will be needed, and the sandbag dike will be less exposed to the stream.
Sandbagging should also focus along existing flood works or any low spots along dikes for maximum protection.
Dig a trench one bag in depth and two bags wide as a foundation for the dike structure.
To be effective, a dike must be three times as wide at its base as it is high.
Sandbags should be turned right side out and filled half full. they need not be tied shut, just laid overlapping each other.
The open ends of the sandbags should be facing upstream and/or uphill so that the moving water will not remove the sand from the bags as readily.
Alternate direction of sandbags with bottom layer, i.e. bottom layer lengthwise with dike, next layer crosswise.
As individual bags are put in place, walk on bags to tamp them into place to ensure maximum strength. Take care to avoid puncturing the bags.
The butt ends of the bags should be placed facing the stream, for rows that are perpendicular to the stream.
Each successive layer should be set back one-half sandbag width on both sides in each additional layer so a completed dike has a triangular cross-section.
The number of sandbags needed to protect a home or building varies depending on the local topography and the anticipated depth of water.