British Columbia is not ready for a major earthquake and the provincial government has not made preparing for one a priority, the province's auditor general reported March 25.
Russ Jones said there has been little improvement since 1997, the last time his office audited Emergency Management BC (EMBC), the organization responsible for preparing government to respond to a catastrophic earthquake.
"Successive governments have decided to allocate scarce public resources to meet more immediate pressing demands, rather than to adequately prepare the province for a catastrophic earthquake that may or may not occur," said Jones in a statement.
"EMBC's current operating budget for emergency activities is approximately the same as it was in 2006. In addition, EMBC staff is busy with daily emergencies such as floods and fires so catastrophic earthquake planning is done as a side-of-desk activity."
The Ministry of Justice has responded to the audit, saying it will move immediately to implement all nine of Jones' recommendations.
Those include more planning, drills and public education campaigns. The ministry will also prepare an annual report on B.C.'s earthquake preparedness.
A major earthquake in Metro Vancouver could cost the economy $75 billion, according to an October 2013 study by the Insurance Bureau of Canada.
