Quake Cottage comes to UFV Abbotsford on ShakeOut day

The Quake Cottage by Motion Safe stops by the UFV Abbotsford campus on Thursday, Oct 19.

UFV welcomes the ‘Quake Cottage’ to its Abbotsford campus Oct 19 as the BC Earthquake Alliance (BCEA) kicks off its province-wide Earthquake Preparedness Tour.

The Quake Cottage by Motion Safe is a mobile earthquake simulator that demonstrates what a major earthquake feels like, mimicking one that rates 8.0 on the Richter Scale. The public is invited to visit UFV between 9 am and 2 pm Thursday, Oct 19 and experience the Quake Cottage for free, right in front of the Student Union Building (Building S).

“As the BC Earthquake Alliance conducts outreach, we hear about gaps in education in earthquake preparedness education and the positive impact of simulated experiences on learning about earthquake and tsunami risks and preparedness,” says Christine Buttkus, the alliance’s executive director. “We are very grateful to the Insurance Bureau of Canada and UFV for helping us launch this tour. With their help, we will expand our reach to communities throughout our province, including traditionally underserved communities.”

Living in a seismically active region means British Columbians need to be prepared and know how to stay safe during and after an earthquake. In addition to the Quake Cottage, the BCEA tour also includes an interactive display and education activities.

The UFV demonstration coincides with a Great British Columbia ShakeOut drill that takes place at 10:19 am that same day. At the designated time, UFV students and employees are encouraged to participate by dropping to the ground, covering under a table or desk and holding on for 60 seconds. If you have difficulty getting onto the ground, or cannot get back up again without help, consider following the recommendations listed here.

“BCEA is excited to launch the Earthquake Preparedness Tour along with our 12th annual earthquake drill,” says BCEA president Naomi Yamamoto. “We celebrate leaders like UFV who are creating opportunities for their campus and surrounding community to deepen earthquake preparedness and resilience. With hundreds of thousands of British Columbians already registered for this year’s event we look forward to being on site at UFV for the largest drill yet.”

During ShakeOut, UFV also tests the UFV Alert emergency notification system. You will only receive a message from UFV Alert on your phone or device if you are already registered with the system. Please ensure your UFV Alert information (mobile number and email address) is up to date by checking here or you can register for the first time here.

The public address systems on the Abbotsford and Chilliwack campuses will also be tested. If you are on campus, no evacuation will take place.

Participation is voluntary. For more information on how to participate in ShakeOut please visit The Great British Columbia ShakeOut website where you will find resources including video tutorials on reacting to an earthquake in different scenarios.

If you have questions about the ShakeOut drill and UFV’s participation, please visit www.ufv.ca/safety-and-security/contact-info/.

If you have questions about UFV Alert, please email Darren McDonald, Acting Director, Communications, at Darren.McDonald@ufv.ca.

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