In The News

Small earthquake hits near Hampton

Earthquakes Canada reports 12 small quakes in New Brunswick in the last month.

Natural Resources Canada is reporting a small earthquake near Hampton on Sunday night.

Earthquakes Canada indicates the quake happened at 6:15 p.m. and lists the magnitude at 1.6

It says the quake was centred about 28 kilometres west of Hampton and five kilometres underground.

According to the federal government website, the quake was not felt.

In the last month, Earthquakes Canada reports there have been a dozen small earthquakes.

The most recent earthquake was a 3.2 magnitude earthquake 28 kilometres east of Plaster-Rock on Nov. 2.

There have also been several earthquakes in the Bathurst area.

On Oct. 30, there were two earthquakes in the Bathurst area. The first happened 35 kilometres southwest of Bathurst at 7:11 a.m. and had a magnitude of 2.2. The second occurred 66 kilometres southwest of Bathurst and had a magnitude of 2.1.

On Oct. 29, there were three other minor quakes, all located roughly 65 southwest of Bathurst and had magnitudes between 0.1 and 2.4.

And on Oct. 14, there was a 0.7 magnitude earthquake 58 kilometres southwest of Bathurst.

None of these earthquakes were felt.

Source: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/small-earthquake-hits-near-hampton-1.2832098

Fracking linked to Alberta earthquakes, study indicates

The most recent earthquake in the province was recorded in Peace River on Nov. 2.

Carmen Langer had just left his bed to grab a drink of water when he felt his house northeast of Peace River, Alta., begin to shake.

“At first I thought I wasn’t feeling very good that day… and it was just my blood sugar, but no, it shook pretty good,” Langer said about the Nov. 2 incident.

Moments after the shaking stopped, his neighbours were calling, asking if he had felt what they just felt.

“After a few minutes, I realized it was an earthquake,” Langer said.

Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) registered a small, 3.0-magnitude earthquake that was “lightly felt” from Three Creeks to St. Isidor in northern Alberta at 11:14 p.m. MT. NRCan said on its website there were no reports of damage, and that “none would be expected.”

Jeff Gu, a seismologist at the University of Alberta, said the earthquake could have been caused by shifting rock formations in the region — but added there could be another possible explanation.

“Certainly that region is not immune to earthquake faulting, but I would say having actual earthquakes in that area is relatively recent, relatively new,” he said.

Gu is one of three authors of a recently published study in the Journal of Geophysical Research, a peer-reviewed publication that looked at four years of earthquake data around Rocky Mountain House. The study concludes that waste-water injection into the ground is highly correlated with spikes in earthquake activity in the area.

It is the first study of its kind conducted in Canada that links industrial activity to induced earthquakes.

“The conclusion was that the industrial activities could, in some cases, potentially trigger or facilitate earthquake occurrences,” Gu said.

Alberta earthquakes increasing

Since 1985, fewer than 15 earthquakes above a 3.0 magnitude have been recorded anywhere in Alberta, according to the Alberta Geological Survey’s website. There has been an increase in earthquake activity since the 1960s, the organization says.

The Peace River earthquake is not the only one that has shaken the province in the past few months:

In October, a 2.7-magnitude quake was recorded about four kilometres southwest of Banff.

In August, a 4.3-magnitude earthquake was registered near Rocky Mountain House, causing about 500 customers in the area to lose power for several hours.

Gu said the research into whether waste-water induction and fracking are related to earthquakes is still “really a work in progress.”

“There has been more and more evidence, increasing evidence, in the last few years in particular — in Arkansas, in Texas and actually more recently here,” Gu said.

But he said there is nothing to fear right now.

“I’m not worried until we get a conclusive answer on whether these are caused by industry or not, whether they are naturally occurring,” Gu said.

Langer, however, is worried.

“With all the stuff that’s going on in my community, I’m feeling quite concerned about it,” he said. “We’re having all kinds of environmental problems in the community… Something has to give here.”

Source: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/fracking-linked-to-alberta-earthquakes-study-indicates-1.2829484

2.7-magnitude earthquake confirmed near Banff

A small earthquake has been confirmed near the mountain town of Banff in western Alberta.

The 2.7-magnitude quake was recorded roughly four kilometres southwest of the town site. Natural Resources Canada says it happened Thursday at 5:42 p.m. MT.

Banff Mayor Karen Sorensen says the small earthquake was felt by residents.

“It was an interesting sensation,” she said. “I think most of the community, myself included, we were all just sitting down to dinner, or getting home from work, and there was definitely a rumble. I would say two to three seconds at most.”

She said many describe it as a “very large truck driving by your home.”

Sorensen said the fire department and town manager looked into the situation immediately, but no damage or injuries have been reported.

She said some people living in nearby Harvie Heights also felt the quake, but Sorensen said Canmore’s mayor did not feel the rumble.

Although earthquakes are rare in Alberta, they do occur.

The Banff area has seen earthquakes in the past, although Sorensen said she has never felt one during the past 30 years living there.

The largest earthquake measured in the area had a magnitude of 6.0 back in 1918.

Source: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/2-7-magnitude-earthquake-confirmed-near-banff-1.2802161

B.C.’s earthquake preparedness questioned again

More than six months after a scathing auditor-general report said B.C. was not ready for a catastrophic earthquake, the province says work has been completed on only two of the report’s recommendations but progress is being made on the other seven.

Thursday marked B.C.’s fourth annual ShakeOut, an event designed to promote earthquake preparedness and encourage people to drop to the ground, take cover under a desk or table, and hold on. Hundreds of thousands of residents took part, including students, first responders and employees at local businesses.

In late March, then-auditor general Russ Jones said the provincial government and Emergency Management B.C. (EMBC) had not prioritized catastrophic earthquake planning. The justice minister immediately said all nine of the auditor-general’s recommendations would be met.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson says two of the recommendations have now been fulfilled: EMBC has developed a strategic plan to meet the province’s long-term goals, and it has worked on its procedures to ensure it is prepared to respond to a massive quake.

As for the other recommendations, the spokesperson said work is under way to establish a B.C. earthquake planning team that would be led by EMBC and supported by the Canadian Red Cross, Public Safety Canada and Department of National Defence.

The provincial government must still ensure EMBC has the necessary resources, and EMBC must report annually on the state of its catastrophic earthquake preparedness. Mr. Jones had found EMBC had not previously made clear to the public how unprepared it was for a massive quake.

A report to the province from an independent expert is due by the end of the year.

Mr. Jones, who is now the deputy auditor-general, said in an interview Thursday that members of his office will likely meet with government officials in March to review the work that’s been carried out.

In his report, Mr. Jones said he was surprised by the findings because a similar auditor-general’s report 17 years earlier had raised the same concerns.

The new report found EMBC did not have an adequate earthquake response plan and was not fully staffed. It said catastrophic earthquakes occur, on average, every 500 to 600 years, but scientists have estimated there is about a 12-per-cent chance one will occur in the next 50 years.

John Horgan, leader of the opposition B.C. NDP, said the provincial government continues to say it is taking positive action on earthquake preparedness, but is moving far too slowly. Mr. Horgan took particular issue with seismic upgrades at schools – the pace is far too slow, he said.

Premier Christy Clark, in April of last year, announced the province would commit more than $584-million to seismically upgrade 45 high-risk schools. A press release said there would be funding for 10 seismic projects in 2013-14.

Mr. Horgan said work has only begun on three of those schools. A Ministry of Education spokesperson said the funding for the projects was committed, but local districts must still submit project reports to get shovels in the ground. The spokesperson said two reports are being reviewed, and four districts have not yet submitted their reports. For one of the projects, the local board decided instead to close the school, the spokesperson said.

But Patti Bacchus, chair of the Vancouver School Board, said the seismic upgrade process does not move quickly enough. “The funding approvals for school seismic projects have become very difficult to get from the Ministry of Education,” she wrote in an e-mail. “They have quietly changed some of the proposal criteria and are sending proposals back to us asking us to cut more out of the project budgets and creating even further delays.”

Source: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/bcs-earthquake-preparedness-questioned-again/article21139980/

Your postal code can predict severity of quake damage

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – It’s coming at precisely 10:16 this morning — are you ready?

This morning, schools, businesses and governments across the province “dropped, covered, and held on” during the Great BC Shakeout. News1130 took part in the the largest earthquake drill in BC history.

Each year, about 4,000 earthquakes are recorded in Canada, many of them in the seismically active region around BC. Most are small, but at least nine earthquakes in or near Canada have registered a magnitude of seven or higher in the past century.

How a major quake will affect your home, school or place of work depends not only the magnitude and epicentre, but also your postal code.

In 2004, the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR) released an actuarial map, ranking seismic risk across Canada by postal code and found 13 fell into their “extreme” rating in southwestern BC.“The ratings go from ‘very low’ to ‘extreme’ and the extreme rating is mostly in the Vancouver and Victoria areas,” says ICLR Managing Director Glenn McGillivary.

“The biggest, most damaging quakes are possible in those areas. Historically, they’ve had some very large quakes and we know the potential there is very high for a very large, damaging quake of several tens of billions of dollars in damage,” he tells News1130.

Thirteen postal codes fall into the ICLR’s “extreme” rating, including V7B, the code for Vancouver international Airport. The rest are within Richmond, Delta and Victoria.

The “very high” risk category includes V4L in Delta and V4R in Maple Ridge. V2S and V2T in Abbotsford are ranked “high,” as is V7P in North Vancouver.

Source: http://www.news1130.com/2014/10/16/your-postal-code-can-predict-severity-of-quake-damage/

ShakeOut earthquake drill aims to ready B.C. for the big one

CBC Radio will air the drill just after 10 a.m. PT on Thursday

Hundreds of thousands of B.C. residents are expected to ‘drop, cover and hold on’ as part of an international earthquake drill this morning.

CBC Radio will air the drill in B.C. at 10:16 a.m. PT, Thursday Oct. 16.

Organizers say so far 690,000 B.C. residents have registered to join about 25 million people around the world in taking part in the drill.

Everyone in the province is encouraged to participate. Organizers say residents should:

1.    DROP to the ground in simulation of a major earthquake;

2.    Take COVER by getting under a sturdy desk or table, and

3.    HOLD ON to it for 60 seconds

The safest place to be during an earthquake is not in a doorway, according to a statement issued by the City of Vancouver.

“In most modern structures, doorways are not any stronger than the rest of the building. Running outside can also be extremely unsafe as it could be difficult during the shaking and there may be falling objects and glass.

“If it’s difficult to get safely to the floor, crouch down, protect the head and neck, and move away from windows or other items that can fall.

“If in a wheelchair, lock the wheels and remain seated until the shaking stops. Always protect the head and neck with whatever is available,

“After the drill, take the time to identify hazards that may be found at home or in work areas, mitigate these hazards, and update emergency plans and kits.

“Most residents are aware that they live in a high risk earthquake region, but many are not aware that a large majority of injuries and deaths during earthquakes occur due to falling objects, and not structures.

“Participating in the drill is a great way to be prepared to survive and recover quickly from a large earthquake, whether at work or at home.”

To register as an official participant of ShakeOutBC, visit www.shakeoutbc.ca and follow ShakeOutBC on Twitter @ShakeOutBC or Facebook at facebook.com/ShakeOutBC in preparation for the drill.

Source: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/shakeout-earthquake-drill-aims-to-ready-b-c-for-the-big-one-1.2800741

Two small earthquakes reported in B.C. and Washington overnight

An earthquake at the southern end of Puget Sound caught the attention of a few people Saturday night, but no damage was reported.

The 3.5-magnitude quake, which began around 11:25 p.m., was centred about 15 kilometres northeast of Olympia, Washington and at a depth of 58 km, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

KCPQ said residents in Puyallup, Roy and Port Orchard reported feeling the quake.

Early Sunday morning, another small quake was reported well off the coast of Vancouver Island. The Earthquake Monitoring Service of Canada reported the 4.0-magintude quake, which began around 3 a.m., was more than 200 km west of Tofino, about 10 km below the surface.

Source: http://www.theprovince.com/news/small+earthquakes+reported+Washington+overnight/10285467/story.html

Haida Gwaii gets small shake from 4.7 magnitude earthquake

A small earthquake has struck about 60 kilometres southwest of Queen Charlotte City in the Haida Gwaii islands.

There are no reports of injury or damage from the 4.7 magnitude temblor that struck shortly after 2 p.m. PT [September 28th, 2014].

Earthquakes Canada tweeted the quake and location at 2:05 p.m. PT.

Earthquakes Tsunamis put its depth at 19 kilometres.

Natural Resources Canada says the shaker occurred in a region where earthquakes are common because of the movement of several plates of the earth’s crust.

More than 100 magnitude 5.0 earthquakes or stronger have occurred off British Columbia in the last 70 years.

Two years ago, a 7.7 magnitude earthquake, the second strongest earthquake ever recorded in Canada, struck the west coast of Haida Gwaii, causing no reported injuries and little damage.

Source: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/haida-gwaii-gets-small-shake-from-4-7-magnitude-earthquake-1.2780346

Powerful earthquake rattles large swath of Alaska

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – A powerful earthquake shook up a large swath of Alaska, including the state’s largest city.

The Alaska Earthquake Center says the quake had a 6.2 magnitude.

The quake occurred at 9:51 a.m. Thursday, 130 kilometres northwest of Anchorage, where it was strongly felt, and lingered for at least one minute.

There are no immediate reports of damage or injury.

No tsunami is expected.

Source: http://bc.ctvnews.ca/powerful-earthquake-rattles-large-swath-of-alaska-1.2024434