High Ground Hike: Tsunami preparedness event
High Ground Hikes are community events held during Tsunami Preparedness Week. The goal is to raise awareness about B.C.'s tsunami risk and give people along the coast an opportunity to practice reaching a tsunami-safe location. This year, Tsunami Preparedness Week is from April 9 to 15. Be sure to check for a High Ground Hike near you!
Learn more ways to prepare for earthquakes and tsunamis.
On this page:
High Ground Hike 2023
Over the last couple of years, High Ground Hikes shifted from in-person community events to virtual events where participants took a self-guided hike and a selfie to prove they had reached their community’s tsunami-safe location. Selfies posted to Facebook or Twitter were entered into a draw for emergency preparedness prizes.
This year, Prepared BC is encouraging local communities to once again host local, in-person (they can still be virtual too!) High Ground Hike events and we are here to help!
2023 High Ground Hike Hosts
These communities are hosting a High Ground Hike event:
- Colwood
- Heiltsuk Nation (Bella Bella)
- Mount Waddington Regional District – Quatsino
- Old Massett
- Pacheedaht First Nation
- Piers Island (during Emergency Preparedness Week)
- Port Hardy
- Port Moody
- Prince Rupert
- Sooke
- Stewart
- Tofino
- Toquaht Nation (Ucluelet)
- Ucluelet
- Victoria
Host a High Ground Hike
Want to raise awareness about tsunami preparedness in your community? We’re inviting coastal First Nations and other local governments in areas at risk of tsunamis to host High Ground Hikes during Tsunami Preparedness Week.
Benefits of hosting
As a host community, you’ll be able to educate residents and visitors about:
- The local tsunami risk
- Where to get information in the event of a tsunami
- How to prepare for a tsunami
- The local tsunami risk
- The designated tsunami evacuation route(s)
- The tsunami-safe location(s)
- Where to get information in the event of a tsunami
- The designated tsunami evacuation route(s)
Host Resources
If you're interested in planning a High Ground Hike, get started with the following promotional materials and resources.
Planning materials
- Planning brochure (PDF, 1.3MB)
- PreparedBC Earthquake and Tsunami Guide (PDF, 1.5MB)
- News Release Template (DOCX, 44 KB)
- Social media package
Digital and print materials
- High Ground Hike promotional poster:
- Earthquake and tsunami safety action poster
- High Ground Hike logo - Colour (JPEG, 464KB)
- High Ground Hike logo - Black and white (JPEG, 266KB)
- Promotional social media graphic (PNG, 890 KB)
- Route markers:
How we can help
We can profile host communities in our High Ground Hike promotional materials, on Twitter and Facebook and list all community events on this page.
We can also assist by providing:
- A 4-person home emergency kit grand prize for your event if you let us know by emailing PreparedBC@gov.bc.ca
- One-on-one support from the Prepared BC High Ground Hike Coordinator
- Communications/marketing assistance
- Printed copies of the Prepared BC Earthquake and Tsunami Guide (PDF)*
*Please contact us to place your order and allow 7 to 10 business days for delivery.
Contact us
If you have any questions about running a High Ground Hike, please email us at PreparedBC@gov.bc.ca.
