It is a question that Canadians will soon have to consider, with the country’s first earthquake early warning system starting in West Vancouver. Natural Resources Canada has developed its first sensor, which will eventually be a network of 400 sensors in seismically active areas, inside the BC Ferries Horseshoe Bay terminal on Monday (March 28th). The system is designed to detect the first wave of energy radiated from the epicenter of an earthquake and then provide a “seconds to tens of seconds” warning before the actual vibration begins. “Indigenous history tells us that every two centuries we experienced catastrophic earthquakes in British Columbia, which today can damage infrastructure, destroy buildings, cause power outages and displace communities. “They can cause injury or even death and almost always come without warning,” said Patrick Weiler, West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea at Sky Country, announcing the program on behalf of the federal government. “When an earthquake strikes, every second counts.” Inside the sensor that is screwed to the floor of the ferry terminal there are accelerometers that detect any ground movement. When enough movement is observed on several sensors, the warning can be activated. The government expects the system to be fully operational by 2024. If and when activated, it will use the national public alert system to provide instant alerts on smartphones, TVs and radios, similar to the way Amber Alerts works today. “With this system, we will remove speculation from the initial response and be able to prepare effectively for what is coming our way. “By giving this heads-up, people will have a few extra moments to fall, get covered and hold on,” said Jennifer Rice, BC parliamentary secretary for emergency preparedness. It will also benefit vital infrastructure operators, who will need initiatives to mitigate the risk faced by the public and the environment. With a little early warning, planes could be diverted from landing and trains could be stopped, workers handling dangerous tools or materials could be put down, surgeries could be stopped, gates could be set up for block entrances to bridges or tunnels and businesses could start creating emergency server backups. Similar warning systems are already in place in Japan, Mexico, Taiwan and the US states on the West Coast, where one of them was triggered by the 2019 Ridgecrest earthquakes in Los Angeles. “It was a very good test base and it worked very well,” said Allison Byrd, a seismologist with Natural Resources Canada. “We’ve seen this work elsewhere, which is why I’m so excited, as a seismologist, to have it in Canada. That will make a big difference for us. “ Canada’s new system even uses the same software as the US to allow instant data sharing, Bird said. Mark Collins, President and CEO of BC Ferries, said the company was pleased to host the first sensor in its terminal building. “It was very close to our hearts because, living on the west coast of Canada and running a transportation service, you can only worry about seismic activity, so we are absolutely excited to be part of this initiative.” he said. e.g. is the most seismically active place in Canada. In 1946, a magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck Vancouver Island, the largest landmass ever recorded in the country. Since then, more than 100 magnitudes of five or larger have been recorded, and almost every day, seismographs record smaller earthquakes along the Juan De Fuca plate.
