B.C. expands Alert Ready system to provide heat warnings
B.C. is expanding the Alert Ready system’s use in the province to provide heat warnings and declare extreme heat emergencies.
The move comes after the province and municipalities were criticized following the deaths of nearly 600 British Columbians due to oppressive temperatures.
Mar Dufor remembers last year's heat -- vividly -- saying it was a "very difficult" weekend.
The senior lives in an apartment with no air conditioning and told CTV News she did her best to keep cool.
"I did have a fan that I took from room to room," said Dufor.
Her daughter-in-law, Irene, said she was worried about Dufor but also for young children. She went to Prince George when the mercury hit 37 C.
"I think there need to be heat alerts," she added.
Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth announced Monday the province will use the Alert Ready system to warn when there are sustained high temperatures or an extreme heat emergency is declared.
"There will be much more notification, much more 'in the media' if you like and much more communication with local governments," he told reporters in Victoria.
The two-step system means a first alert would go out when the temperature rises above what's normal for the region, and would sync up with Environment Canada.
According to a news release, the criteria for the first alert is when there are two or more consecutive days in which the maximum daytime temperature is above the threshold. The province said the alert for a heat warning would go out when there's a moderate increase in the risk. The province expects this type of alert may go out up to three times a summer.
A second extreme heat emergency may be declared when the risk is high to the public, and the max daytime temperatures are above the threshold for three days or more. The government thinks this type of alert may occur twice in a decade.
Regional temperature thresholds are as follows:
- Southwest: daytime high of 29 C, nighttime low of 16 C
- Fraser: daytime high of 33 C, nighttime low of 17 C
- Southeast (Largely interior region of B.C.): daytime high of 35 C, nighttime low of 18 C
- Northeast: daytime high of 29 C, nighttime low of 14 C
- Northwest: daytime high of 28 C, nighttime low of 13 C
Alert Ready is a national system that is currently used for amber alerts and soon will be used for flood and fire warnings in the province, as well.
Critics point out during last year's extreme heat, the ambulance service was overwhelmed. Health Minister Adrian Dix insisted the service is more prepared this year than last, and that in addition to more staff being added, how emergency service providers are staffed during emergencies is changing.
"We've learned some of the lessons of what happened last year in terms of improvements in terms of how we move staff around in cases of emergencies," he said.
Many of those who died were seniors, and advocates believe those who lived at home, didn't have air conditioners, or had mobility issues were most at risk. The public safety minister says funding is also being provided to cities to map who's at highest risk and to figure out how to get them help.
Shirley Bond, the Opposition's health critic, said she wants the province to act quickly to help those most vulnerable.
"How do people who are elderly and frail living alone, how do they get the kind of support they need? What if they're on a fixed income? So you know, we need to continue to see measures that are going to close the gaps that were exposed last year."
More recommendations are expected Tuesday when the coroners service releases an in-depth report through a death review panel. That will examine the circumstances surrounding last year's heat deaths and how to prevent them in the future.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
He didn't trust police but sought their help anyway. Two days later, he was dead
Jameek Lowery was among more than 330 Black people who died after police stopped them with tactics that aren’t supposed to be deadly, like physical restraint and use of stun guns, The Associated Press found.
Fluid in eye cells can 'boil' if you watch the eclipse without protection: expert
Millions of people in parts of Eastern and Atlantic Canada will be able to see the rare solar eclipse happening on April 8. But they should only look up if they have proper eye protection, experts say.
NEW More unauthorized products for skin, sexual enhancement, recalled: Here are the recalls of this week
Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency recalled various items this week, including torches, beef biltong and unauthorized products related to skin care and sexual enhancement.
Where is the worst place for allergy sufferers in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
Do these exercises for core strength if you can't stomach doing planks
Planks are one of the most effective exercises for strengthening your midsection, as they target all of your major core muscles: the transverse abdominis, rectus abdominis, external obliques and internal obliques. Yet despite the popularity of various 10-minute plank challenges, planking is actually one of the most dreaded core exercises, according to many fitness experts.
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Angst and calls for resting places as Surrey, B.C., pet cemetery development continues
A single headstone is all that remains of dozens of markers for long-buried pets in a subdivision in Surrey’s Newton neighbourhood, where a half-acre parcel bears a large sign announcing the proposed construction of new homes.
Polar ice is melting and changing Earth's rotation. It's messing with time itself
One day in the next couple of years, everyone in the world will lose a second of their time. Exactly when that will happen is being influenced by humans, according to a new study, as melting polar ice alters the Earth’s rotation and changes time itself.