Tuesday night's earthquake that rattled some windows and startled plenty across the Lower Mainland wasn't enough to trigger Richmond's emergency response plans.
Still, it had city workers conduct a visual inspection of the city's dike system to ensure no damage was suffered in the brief, 4.8 magnitude jolt that was centred north east of Victoria.
City spokesman Ted Townsewnd told the News crews were out Wednesday making the checks on Richmond's 49 km dike network, but that sensors on areas of the dike system did not indicate at the time of the quake there were any breeches.
Townsend also said reports on social media shortly following the quake questioned the effects on overpasses along Hwy. 99.
"We met with Mainroad Contracting, which is responsible for highway maintenance, and those concerns were found to have no basis," Townsend said.
There were no reports of damage to any city buildings that would put emergency plans into action, Townsend said, but the event served as a useful reminder to the public that being prepared for a post disaster situation should be a prime concern.
"While last night's quake was fairly minor, it reminds us that we live in an earthquake zone and people need to have an earthquake plan and supply kit," he said. "From public surveys we know that people have a good understanding of that, but few have acted on it."
Townsend said a rule of thumb is to be prepared to last 72 hours without outside assistance.
"In reality, recovery help may even take much longer than that," he said.
This summer's severe wind storms that battered Lower Mainland communities and left large populations without power for many days was another reminder how important it is to have emergency plans in place, Townsend added.
