A new school in Masset, B.C. includes Canada’s first-ever tsunami evacuation tower.

The Government of British Columbia provided more than $16 million for seismic upgrades and a tsunami evacuation tower at Daaxiigan Sk’adáa Née Secondary school. The Haida Gwaii Board of Education provided $250,000.

The school is now home to Daaxiigan Sk’adáa Née Secondary school and Tahaygen Elementary students as a single-site K-12 facility, which will serve Masset families for generations.

The new tsunami evacuation tower is a 10-metre tall steel structure built on school property that includes storage for emergency supplies. This is a significant improvement, as the former evacuation safe zone was more than 10 kilometres from the school.

In addition to safety improvements, the project includes renovations to ensure the school is suitable for students in every grade. That includes the addition of a new main entrance, a special-education room and the creation of a secondary Xaad Kil Haida language-learning space.

“The board of education for the Haida Gwaii School District is excited to open the doors on the newly renovated and renamed school, Daaxiigan Sk’adáa Née,” said Roeland Denooij, board vice-chair, Haida Gwaii School District. “As the first K-12 school in the district, we look forward to seeing the positive results for student achievement as our staffing and resources are all in one building for the communities of northern Haida Gwaii. Haawa to all the people who have made this project a reality.”