The number of residents who have an emergency kit, a plan and a meeting place is down markedly since 2019.
Vancouver, BC [August 10, 2021] – The proportion of British Columbians who have taken steps to prepare for an emergency has fallen over the past two years, a new Research Co. poll has found.
In the online survey of a representative provincial sample, 38% of British Columbians say they have purchased or prepared an emergency kit with supplies they might need in case of an emergency, down eight points since a similar Research Co. survey conducted in May 2019.
Only 28% of British Columbians (-11) have prepared an emergency plan that includes how to get in touch with family or friends in case of an emergency and just 22% (-13) have established a meeting place with family or friends in case of an emergency.
“Fewer than half of British Columbians across all regions have purchased or prepared an emergency kit,” says Mario Canseco, President of Research Co. “The proportion is highest on Vancouver Island (45%), but drops in the Fraser Valley (41%), Metro Vancouver (39%), Southern BC (30%) and Northern BC (29%).”
British Columbians aged 18 to 34 are more likely to have both prepared an emergency plan (31%) and established a meeting place (27%) than their counterparts aged 55 and over (26% and 17% respectively).
Majorities of British Columbians have confidence in the ability of their provincial government (66%), their municipal government (63%) and the federal government (59%) to successfully deal with an emergency (such as a natural disaster, a serious accident, or incident caused by human error).
Three-in-four British Columbians (75%, -1) think it is likely that an earthquake strong enough to damage buildings will occur in British Columbia in the next 50 years.
When asked about their level of concern about being personally affected by 10 different emergencies, majorities of British Columbians are worried about facing a fire (80%), an earthquake (72%), high winds (58%), intense rainfall (53%) or a flood (51%).
Fewer of the province’s residents are preoccupied with encountering a toxic spill (47%), heavy snowfall (also 47%), a terrorist attack (46%), a tsunami (42%) or a landslide (39%).
Methodology:Results are based on an online study conducted from July 31 to August 3, 2021, among 800 adults in British Columbia. The data has been statistically weighted according to Canadian census figures for age, gender and region in British Columbia. The margin of error—which measures sample variability—is +/- 3.5 percentage points, nineteen times out of twenty.
Find our data tables here and download the press release here.
For more information on this poll, please contact:
Mario Canseco, President, Research Co.
778.929.0490 [e] mario.canseco@researchco.ca