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Earthquake hits Hardy, it’s a good reminder for you to be prepared

There was an earthquake 185 kilometres west of Port Hardy Thursday morning.

The quake registered 5.1 and according to the Natural Resources Canada’s online earthquake report, the shake-up occurred at 5:57 a.m. There are no reports of damage and no tsunami warnings were issued for the region.

With more than 1,200 recorded earthquakes every year in British Columbia it is becoming increasingly important not to ignore these incidents and to be prepared.

A new study says the Pacific coast has experienced 22 major earthquakes over the last 11,000 years, and is due for another.

Audrey Dallimore, of the School of Environment and Sustainability at Royal Roads University and the author of the study, said the research showed mega earthquakes occur every 500 to 1,000 years.

The last one took place 313 years ago. A megathrust earthquake occurs when a piece of the earth’s crust is forced underneath another plate.

The quakes are of magnitude 9.0 or greater, and both the 2004 Indian Ocean

earthquake that caused the tsunami in Indonesia and the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan were megathrust events.

“We could have one either tomorrow – or 700 years from now,” said Dallimore.

The last “Big One” that we had in Canada happened in 1700 and measured a magnitude of 9.0. It destroyed Native villages and actually caused a tsunami in Japan.

The 1946 Vancouver Island earthquake, Canada’s largest recorded onshore earthquake to date, was a 7.3

magnitude earthquake that struck Vancouver Island at 10:15 a.m. on Sunday, June 23, 1948. The main shock epicenter occurred in the Forbidden Plateau area northwest of Courtenay and west of Campbell River It was felt as far away as Portland, Oregon. The earthquake knocked down 75 per cent of the chimneys in the closest communities, Cumberland, Union Bay, and Courtenay (including the Courtenay School) fortunately,

the earthquake occurred on a Sunday morning so no children were at their desks. A number of chimneys were shaken down in Victoria and people in Victoria and Vancouver were frightened, many running into the streets.

Because Vancouver Island is located directly on a fault line it is considered to be a high risk earthquake zones.

It is now more important than ever to be prepared for the big one, however putting together an earthquake kit can seem somewhat overwhelming; having the resources immediately at hand to deal with the emergency may make the difference of life or death or at the very least comfort or discomfort.

Source: http://www.canada.com/Earthquake+hits+Hardy+good+reminder+prepared/8728588/story.html