In The News

6.1 magnitude earthquake strikes off B.C. coast

A 6.1 magnitude earthquake struck off the northwest coast of Vancouver Island at 1:19 p.m. PT Tuesday, followed by a series of at least five aftershocks, but officials say no tsunami is expected.

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Weather Service was the first to report the quake’s epicentre was approximately 150 kilometres northwest of Port Alice, on Vancouver Island, but said a tsunami was not expected.

The quake was initially rated 6.2 magnitude by the NOAA, but then downgraded to 6.0 by the USGS, while Natural Resources Canada rated the quake 6.1 magnitude.

NRC seismologist Alison Bird says there is no cause for concern because the quake was out in the ocean rather than underneath people.

“I would consider this to be a moderate earthquake. It doesn’t pose any threat to people. There is no tsunami expected. We haven’t even received any fault reports yet. It’s far enough away from communities that it really isn’t any worry,” said Bird.

Residents in Bella Bella, Port Alice and Port Hardy contacted by CBC News said they did not feel the quake or its aftershocks, but Bird says it is a reminder folks should take part in the provincewide Shakeout B.C. earthquake drill next month.

Aftershocks recorded

At least five aftershocks were reported in the same area including a 4.6 magnitude at 2:05 p.m, a 4.8 magnitude at 2:25 p.m., a 5.0 magnitude at 3:29., 4.2 magnitude at 4:07, and 5.9 magnitude at 5:23 p.m.

“The earthquakes had ‘strike-slip’ mechanisms which means the motion was mainly horizontal,” said CBC meteorologist Johanna Wagstaffe, who has a background in seismology.

“Here, two plates are sliding past each other, rather than one plate moving underneath another one. These quakes are likely connected to the Queen Charlotte fault rather than the Cascadia subduction zone, but this is a complicated section of West Coast tectonics. It’s possible these quakes are connected to last year’s October 2012 7.8 magnitude quake as well.”

The area of the ocean floor west and north of B.C., often referred to as the Pacific Ring of Fire, is known for its seismic activity.

On Tuesday evening, a magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck near the Izu Islands in southern Japan. Tremors were felt in Tokyo, but no damage was reported and no tsunami expected. The Japan quake was not connected to the B.C. quakes.

On Monday, a much smaller 3.9 magnitude earthquake registered approximately 119 kilometres southwest of Port Alice, according to Natural Resources Canada.

Farther to the northwest, a 7.0 quake last week shook near the coast of Adak, one of Alaska’s Aleutian Islands.

Source: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/6-1-magnitude-earthquake-strikes-off-b-c-coast-1.1376320

California earthquake a timely reminder for B.C residents: Expert

While there’s no cause for alarm for Vancouverites following the devastating earthquake that rocked the northern Bay Area of California early Sunday morning, it’s another reminder that it could happen here.

A 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck just before 3:30 a.m. on Aug. 24 near Napa, which is the biggest one to hit the region in the last 25 years. It sent approximately 90 people to hospital, ignited fires and casts tens of thousands of people into darkness.

But Brent Ward, SFU sciences professor, said there’s no evidence to suggest that earthquake could trigger one in B.C., but it’s an important reminder for people to plan for the big one due to hit the Lower Mainland in the future.

“It’s always a good wakeup call for people to think, to realize we are in an active earthquake zone,” he added.

Vancouver verges on the edge of two plates. The Juan de Fuca plate moves towards and under the North American plate, known as the Cascadia Subduction Zone. It could potentially bring a 9.0-magnitude earthquake from Vancouver Island, to Vancouver and stretch down as far as Seattle or Oregon, according to Ward.

The California quake was a result of pressure building up along the San Andreas Fault, and that same stress is happening to the plates in B.C. Eventually, it’s going to build up so much that the rocks will break and start an earthquake, Ward explained.

“It would look pretty similar to what happened in Japan,” he said. “There would be a lot of intense ground shaking over a very large area.

“It would be a very extensive, large magnitude disaster.”

According to the City of Vancouver, there’s a one in four chance a major earthquake will hit the region in the next 50 years.

If an earthquake did strike, Ward said it’s important for people to have a kit and backup plans.

“The chances of everybody in the family being together when the earthquake happens are so low,” he noted. “You have to have a way for people to get to places after the earthquake.”

– With files from the Canadian Press

Source: http://metronews.ca/news/vancouver/1134983/california-earthquake-a-timely-reminder-for-b-c-residents-expert/

California quake a reminder to expect B.C.’s ‘Big One’

What will you be doing before, and after, a large earthquake shakes your neighbourhood?

After a magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck early Sunday morning in California’s northern Bay Area, B.C. authorities are hoping it will remind local residents that they should be preparing for such a calamity as well.

The California quake hit the wine country destinations of Napa and Sonoma the hardest. Gas lines broke, fires ignited and tens of thousands of residents were cut off from power, all prompting the governor to declare a state of emergency.

News of the quake, the biggest to hit the region since 1989’s Loma Prieta temblor — made especially memorable and horrific by the collapse of a double-decked section of Interstate 80 — will inevitably generate some anxiety for people living near other fault lines and seismic zones to the north.

In B.C., government agencies hope that worry can be channelled into preparation.

Hours before the North Bay quake struck, dozens of community-minded volunteers in Vancouver were getting ready for the Big One at a natural disaster response training session sponsored by the City of Vancouver.

On Saturday, at the staged natural disaster site, the volunteers helped coordinate the rescue of dummies from burning cars and actors from collapsed buildings.

The city is building a network of hyperlocal help called NEAT, which stands for Neighbourhood Emergency Assistance Team, and intends to have these trained volunteers able to carry out basic first aid and assist first responders with situational assessments.

Source: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/california-quake-a-reminder-to-expect-b-c-s-big-one-1.2745405

Staged earthquake gives volunteers real life practice

VANCOUVER — Rubble, blood, bodies — all strewn around the Strathcona area of Vancouver, marking many West Coast residents’ greatest fear: the big earthquake.

But it hasn’t happened yet. Today, the victims are actors from the Vancouver Film School and their rescuers are volunteers from Vancouver’s Neighbourhood Emergency Assistance Team, or NEAT in this post-disaster exercise.

“They’re trained at the higher level than an average person. Once they’ve taken care of their home and their family, they would respond to one of the staging areas, and that’s what the situation is today,” Acting Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services Capt. Brian Bogdanovich told Global News.

The NEAT volunteers are concerned citizens, who have spent 18 hours training in disaster preparedness and response. They’ve had monthly classes on safety, first-aid, radio communications, fire extinguishers and incident command. Their training culminated in this realistic disaster scenario, complete with police dogs, damaged buildings and victims. Challenges ranged from caring for the victims, area reconnaissance to live fire and car accidents.

VFRS Special Operations Team, Heavy Rescue Team and the City of Vancouver’s Heavy Urban Search and Rescue Team also completed the drills, alongside the NEAT volunteers.

Source: http://globalnews.ca/news/1523662/staged-earthquake-gives-volunteers-real-life-practice/

Earthquake near Rocky Mountain House Saturday one of dozens detected in Alberta so far this year

A 4.3 magnitude earthquake that struck near Rocky Mountain House Saturday morning left many wondering how and why this natural event could occur in landlocked Alberta. Turns out, they are fairly common in our province — we just don’t usually feel them.

The quake, which left some residents of Clearwater County without power for about two hours and forced a gas plant off-line as a precaution, is one of dozens of small earthquakes that occur in Alberta every year, Geololgical Survey of Canada research scientist Honn Kao said.

“Alberta is not technically free of earthquakes,” Kao said. “The distribution of earthquakes in Alberta is not uniform, but they tend to be much more frequent along the Alberta British Columbia border.”

Of the 86 minor earthquakes measured in Alberta so far this year, most of them happened near Jasper and Rocky Mountain House. This is because active tectonic plate movement beneath the earth’s surface builds the mountains, and the release of this force causes the earth to rumble. Over the years, these mostly innocuous temblors actually make our Rockies even more magnificent, raising their height anywhere between a couple of centimetres to a few metres depending on the size of the earthquake.

Most of Alberta’s earthquakes average a magnitude of less than three and aren’t felt unless you happen to be directly above the epicentre, the area on the Earth’s surface directly above where the earthquake occurred. Fatalities or property damage aren’t usually caused until a quake reaches a magnitude of 5.5 or six.

There were no injuries or structural damage reported from Saturday’s earthquake.

“The beauty about yesterday morning’s earthquake is that it’s big enough to feel it, but not big enough to cause significant damage,” Kao said.

Big earthquakes happen when a large amount of force accumulates in the tectonic plates over time and is released at once. But this is very rare in Alberta. Tectonic plates move only between two and four centimetres offshore of western B.C. each year — equivalent to the growth rate of your fingernail.

“Generally speaking, they are always small (in Alberta,)” Kao said. “If you compare to B.C., the chance of a big earthquake is definitely much smaller, there’s no doubt about that. But because the tectonic force is there, there’s always a risk.”

Research shows man-made activities can induce earthquakes, though debate still exists on the issue, Kao added. Damming and hydraulic fracturing used in the oil production process increase production but can also induce earthquakes, he said.

Despite the statistical rarity of a serious earthquake in Alberta, Kao said Saturday morning’s earthquake is a reminder that residents should do their best to prepare themselves for the possibility of a larger quake. This includes simple measures such as securing furniture and removing glass from high shelves.

“This is a perfect example for residents to realize they need to take this opportunity and be prepared just in case a damaging earthquake occurs in the future,” Kao said. “It’s generally the public’s impression that Alberta seems to be immune from earthquake activity, but that’s not true.”

Source: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/edmonton/Earthquake+near+Rocky+Mountain+House+leaves+some/10105067/story.html

Small earthquake in Alberta knocks out power and shuts down gas plant

ROCKY MOUNTAIN HOUSE, Alta. — The ground rumbled in Alberta on Saturday as the strongest earthquake the province has seen in over a decade hit an area west of Red Deer.

Natural Resources Canada reported the 4.3 magnitude quake happened at 9:28 local time near Rocky Mountain House.

It said there were no reports of damage, and that none would be expected from a quake that size.

Power was disrupted to about 500 customers, including a gas plant near Rocky Mountain House.

AltaLink spokesperson Scott Schreiner said a substation in the area locked out to prevent a surge or other damage on the system, and that power was restored about two hours later.

Keyara Corp., which operates the Strachan gas plant, said the facility flared off excess gas when it lost power, but there was no damage.

Julie Puddell, a spokesperson for Keyara, said the gas was flared as a safety measure. She said Alberta Environment was contacted for air quality monitoring.

Ted Hickey, the director of community and protective services for Clearwater County, said there was no risk to the public during the flaring.

Hickey said there were no reports of damage from the quake.

“There were some local reports of people feeling something, but they were pretty isolated,” Hickey said, noting he didn’t feel the earthquake at all.

Still, Honn Kao, an earthquakes seismologist with the Geological Survey of Canada, said there hasn’t been an Alberta earthquake this big since a 4.0 quake shook an area northwest of Rocky Mountain House close to the B.C. boundary in 2001.

Kao said Alberta isn’t especially well-known for earthquakes. There have been only two other small quakes in the province in the last 30 days, and they were a magnitude of 2 or 3.

While that may sound like plenty, he said B.C. has had hundreds in the same period, if offshore areas are included. On July 25, there was a 6.2 magnitude quake near B.C. off the coast of the Alaska Panhandle.

Alberta’s earthquakes typically happen close to the Rocky Mountains, he said.

“This earthquake is a perfect reminder, especially for residents, that this area is active,” Kao said.

“People should take this opportunity to make sure they are very well prepared for any earthquake in the future.”

Kao said oil and gas activity hasn’t been ruled out as a potential case for Saturday’s earthquake, and that seismologists would be studying data to see if it may have been a factor. But he pointed out that the region where it occurred experienced quakes prior to energy development.

While a 4.0 quake wouldn’t be enough to damage buildings, Kao said it could still cause shelves or glasses to fall and cause injury.
“If you don’t have well-constructed buildings, even a magnitude 6.0 can cause fatalities,” he said.

Source: http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/small-earthquake-in-alberta-knocks-out-power-and-shuts-down-gas-plant-1.1952837

5.9 magnitude Gulf of Alaska earthquake rocks Yukoners again

It follows a 5.7 magnitude earthquake June 4, at almost exactly the same time of day, in same area.

An earthquake with a magnitude 5.9 about 150 kilometres southwest of Haines, Alaska woke up many people in Whitehorse at 4:54 MT this morning, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Many Yukoners got a similar wake-up when a 5.7 magnitude earthquake struck about 73 kilometres southwest of Haines at almost exactly the same time of day on June 4.

That event was followed by aftershocks.

The U.S. Geological Survey warns on its website that the same thing could happen this time.

Several people went on Twitter to record their observations.

Source: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/5-9-magnitude-gulf-of-alaska-earthquake-rocks-yukoners-again-1.2717780

Engineers want to help mitigate B.C.’s seismic risk

Ann English, CEO and registrar at the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of B.C. (APEGBC), says her association can help British Columbia prepare for a catastrophic earthquake when The Big One hits the province.

English said Emergency Management B.C. (EMBC), which is developing a provincial earthquake preparedness plan, should be put to use The Seismic Mitigation Program for B.C. Schools, which was created 10 years ago by APEGBC, the Ministry of Education and the University of B.C.

“APEGBC will recommend that the B.C. government apply the school seismic mitigation model to all public buildings and critical economic infrastructure in the province,” English said.

“Adopting the application of common risk evaluation guidelines will allow all levels of government and the private sector to better organize and target limited resources.”

English said that APEGBC also recommends that the core operations of government be included in the evaluation.

“If, for example, an earthquake were to hit lower Vancouver Island while the legislature was in session, the damage to B.C.’s Parliament buildings could have severe consequences on the operation of government in an emergency,” she said.

APEGBC is participating in the B.C. government’s earthquake consultation process, which is part of the preparedness plan, through the Earthquake Review Board.

“We’re currently discussing with EMBC the ways in which APEGBC could support efforts to improve public safety related to earthquakes,” English said.

“If adopted for public buildings, the Seismic Retrofit Guidelines would need to be adapted for use with other building types. They are currently intended solely for use in the seismic retrofitting of schools.”

The origins of the school seismic upgrade program date back to 2004, when the Ministry of Education engaged APEGBC and UBC’s Earthquake Engineering Research Institute in a two-pronged mission:

To conduct a comprehensive update of how B.C. schools can be expected to perform in a major earthquake and to upgrade the technical guidelines for seismic retrofits.

The program that resulted from the collaboration contains assessment tools and procedures for engineers to determine how different sections of school buildings in different parts of B.C.’s seismic zones will withstand different types of earthquakes.

It also has technical guidelines for engineers to follow when planning school retrofits, and access to support from APEGBC’s technical review committee.

In addition, a data analyzer gives engineers access to more than eight million sets of seismic retrofit analysis to help them in the assessment and retrofit design of school structures.

“Because of the mitigation program, B.C. has a smart, science-based approach to protect our children in an earthquake, allowing government to efficiently target resources where they’re most needed,” English said.

APEGBC made its suggestions to the government following a March 2014 report by B.C.’s auditor general Russ Jones, which said EMBC wasn’t prepared for a catastrophic earthquake.

In reply to the report, EMBC has started working on a long-term earthquake response plan, a province-wide consultation on earthquake preparedness and a public education campaign.

EMBC spokesman Jeff Groot said the agency is planning to develop an immediate earthquake response plan by the end of March 2015, a sustained response plan by the end of March 2016 and long-term recovery plan by the end of March 2017.

Consultation chairman Henry Renteria, the former director of California’s Office of Emergency Services, has been holding community consultations around the province.

Renteria is meeting with more than a dozen communities in B.C., including Chilliwack, Metro Vancouver, Victoria, Nanaimo, Port Alberni, Courtenay, Port McNeil, Terrace, Prince Rupert, Queen Charlotte Village on Haida Gwaii and Kelowna.

Meetings started May 29 in Kelowna and continue until the end of July.

The consultations will wrap up with a report to government by the end of 2014.

English said the threat of an earthquake in B.C. is not hypothetical.

“The question is not if a significant earthquake will hit, but when,” she said

“Since 1872, nine earthquakes greater than magnitude 6.0 have shaken our region, most recently near Haida Gwaii in 2012.”

English said the only question is when our luck runs out and a big earthquake hits a populated area.

“As the 6.3-magnitude earthquake that shook Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2011 shows, when such an earthquake hits, the result is significant damage,” she said.

The Christchurch earthquake damaged more than 10,000 homes, destroyed 7,500 more, and resulted in the demolition of 1,400 buildings.

The total loss: more than $30 billion or 10 per cent of New Zealand’s GDP.

“That was in a city the size of Victoria,” English said.

“Imagine the economic impact if a similar-sized earthquake hit Metro Vancouver.”

Source: http://www.journalofcommerce.com/Associations/News/2014/7/Engineers-want-to-help-mitigate-BCs-seismic-risk-1000469W/