Tsunami preparedness the theme for the day, as BC observes World Tsunami Awareness Day

Drawing attention to the dangers of tsunami's is the focus of the day for the province, with Prepared BC taking the lead in sharing information related to the need for preparation for coastal communities across the province.

As all of British Columbia's coastal communities sit along active seismic zones and fault lines, the reminders of the threat of tsunamis are not that hard to find, with recent earthquakes off of Vancouver Island calling attention to the percolating dangers that lurk below the ocean surface.

From the list of seismic events recorded so far this year along our coast, it was a major earthquake just north of the Alaska panhandle in late January which provided for the most significant reminder of the tsunami threat.

With the Kodiak quake of January 23rd putting Prince Rupert and all of the North Coast on a Tsunami watch for a period of time during the overnight period.

Overnight 7.9 magnitude quake in Gulf of Alaska briefly put Coastal BC under Tsunami alert

That reminder spurred the City of Prince Rupert to conduct a study on potential danger zones within  the city limits and to create a new app for mobile devices to help spread the word on potential events of the future.

After Tuesday's Alaska quake: Seismic aftershocks continue in Kodiak, while political aftershocks continue to rumble across the North Coast
Tuesday morning Tsunami Warning may spur on calls for better public alert system for Prince Rupert
Tsunami 101 with MLA Rice
City of Prince Rupert awards contract for Tsunami Risk Assessment
City of Prince Rupert's Tsunami Flood Risk Assessment project to share in Federal/Provincial funding
Emergency Alert System to come to mobile devices in May
Emergency Info and Civic Information about to be made available through mobile device services
Council Tutorial highlights elements of new Information Services from City of Prince Rupert
City of Prince Rupert launches Tsunami Preparation Information process
City puts Emergency Notification System to the test

The City of Prince Rupert's Tsunami Risk map
(click to enlarge)

More information related to Emergency Preparedness in Prince Rupert can be found here.




When it comes to any Tsunami emergency, residents should note that much of the North Coast and Haida Gwaii is listed under Tsunami Risk Zone A, those of us living on the coast asked to make note of the five categories of warning alerts that we need to be aware of.

You can learn more about the dangers of Tsunamis and Earthquakes from the Prepared BC website

You can also download a guide to earthquakes and tsunamis here, the twenty page information package provides for a range of material on what we need to know.

For a look at some of the past seismic events in British Columbia and Southeast Alaska see our archive page here.

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