1946 earthquake - Vancouver Island
It’s strange to give someone, on the other side of the world, news about a calamitous event near them. I was skyping with myMum in Australia and mentioned that there had been an earthquake that morning in Christchurch. Not having she turned on the TV to get the news. How strange it was to watch Australian news updates through Skype! It was during this conversation that I mentioned, oh silly me, that Vancouver is due for ‘a big one’.
Over the last 130 years some 10 moderate earthquakes have occurred in Southwest British Columbia and Washington. Larger quakes – in the magnitude of 8 or 9 come around once every 500 years with the last one off the coast of west of Vancouver Island in the 1700’s.
But – did you know that there is an average of one earthquake each day in Southwest BC? While these daily quakes cannot be felt it’s certain that a larger one would wreak considerable havoc on what is now a highly populated area.
The devastation we’re witnessing from Japan is a stark reminder of our own vulnerability. While a nuclear meltdown might not be of concern but Burrard Inlet is home to a number of industrial sites including a chlorine plant and a Chevron refinery. Our high risk transportation zones, the Skytrain, bridges and tunnels, will also be critical in times of emergency.
I live in a building built long before seismic resistance was incorporated into building code. How will my building stand up in a quake? Alas it will crumble unless it was renovated in the last 10 years or was recently converted from an office to residential. But that’s unlikely given it’s in the middle of Kits! Schools and public buildings will fair better with billions of dollars being invested into earthquake proofing. Our kids will be safe and perhaps we’ll see an influx into the public service!
In the meantime, it’s Emergency Preparedness Week in May. Get some tips on putting together an earthquake kit (sardines and all) and brush up on your Earthquake Preparedness.