what happens to people living in high-rise towers when disaster strikes?

 

what happens to people living in high-rise towers when disaster strikes?

I keep thinking about Vancouver, Burnaby and Surrey, and how many people live dozens of floors above the ground.

We talk about hurricanes, atmospheric rivers, flooding and extreme weather. We talk about power outages and roads becoming impassable.

But what happens when all these things happen at once?

What happens when the power goes out for days and the elevators stop working?

I have lived in a building where elevators break down regularly. One was out of service for two months before it was finally repaired, and now another is broken.

Imagine that happening during a major storm.

Think about seniors, people with disabilities, people who are ill, parents with small children, and anyone who cannot walk down dozens of flights of stairs.

How do they get food, drinking water and medication?

Who checks on them?

What happens if water pumps fail and the water supply to upper floors is disrupted?

What happens if roads are flooded, deliveries stop, emergency services are overwhelmed, and people cannot safely leave their buildings?

Where do these people go? What is the plan?

Vancouver, Burnaby and Surrey have enormous numbers of people living in apartment towers. We need to ask whether emergency planning accounts for the needs of everyone inside them, especially during prolonged power outages caused by severe weather.

This isn't about earthquakes. I'm talking about hurricanes, atmospheric rivers, flooding and destructive storms that can knock out essential services.

We have seen what happened during Hurricane Katrina. We have seen what happened during the 2021 floods in British Columbia.

We cannot assume that because someone has a roof over their head, they will be safe when disaster strikes.

I want to know what our municipalities, building managers and emergency planners are doing to prepare for these situations.

If the power goes out for a week, the elevators stop and the roads flood, who makes sure nobody is left stranded in their own home?

These are questions we should be asking now, not after the disaster.

I sincerely hope we never have to find out the hard way.

#EmergencyPreparedness #Vancouver #Burnaby #SurreyBC #ExtremeWeather #FloodPreparedness #PowerOutage #HighRiseLiving #ClimateResilience #NobodyLeftBehind