Photo of earthquakes recorded in Turkey and Syria as of February 6 at 1 pm PST (earthquake.usgs.gov)
A Seismologist with Natural Resources Canada says the powerful earthquakes in Turkey and Syria which killed thousands of people, serves as a reminder that British Columbia is on the edge of experiencing a major earthquake of its own.
The 7.8 magnitude quake struck before dawn in Turkey’s southeast, toppling hundreds of buildings and trapping residents under mounds of rubble or pancaked floors. The U-S Geological Survey says a second 7.5-magnitude quake struck hours later more than 100-kilometres away from the first one.
Speaking on the NL Morning News, John Cassidy says the last magnitude 9 earthquake recorded off the coast of Vancouver Island happened in the 1700s.
“The larger the earthquakes are, typically the rarer they are. Those really big ones off the coast of Vancouver Island in Washington, and Oregon, are roughly 300 to 800 years apart,” he said, noting B.C. is in the cycle of potentially experiencing another major earthquake again.
Cassidy says there is a roughly 10 per cent chance the province will be hit with a magnitude nine earthquake within the next 50 years.
“It’s relatively low, but we know that these earthquakes have happened in the past and we know that they will happen again in the future,” he said. “The importance of being prepared and knowing what to do when the shaking begins, such as getting under a desk or a table and holding on.”
While the concern is greater in the Lower Mainland and in coastal B.C., Cassidy says a large earthquake off the coast of Vancouver would be felt in the Interior.
“These big magnitude seven, eight or nine earthquakes off the coast would be felt in Kamloops and the Okanagan and throughout much of the Interior, and that’s happened many times over past years,” he said, though its not uncommon for earthquakes to start in the Interior as well, though its not as large or as frequent as ones seen off the coast.
“The largest that we’ve seen in the Okanagan for example, which is the largest in the in the Southern Interior was about a 4.6 back in the 1930s near Vernon,” Cassidy said. “So there are those smaller clicks, and there’s typically a few that are felt each year in the region.”
– With Files From The Canadian Press
