5 THINGS ABOUT B . C .’ S TSUNAMI SCARE
1 QUAKE MEASURED 7.9
The tsunami warning that was issued for coastal B.C. Tuesday morning was in response to a 7.9- magnitude quake that struck about 1: 30 a. m. Pacific time and was centred 278 kilometres southeast of Kodiak Island in the Gulf of Alaska. The warning covered parts of Alaska, B.C.’s north coast, Haida Gwaii, the west, central and northeast coasts of Vancouver Island, and along the Juan de Fuca Strait.
2 ‘ IT WAS APOCALYPTIC’
In low- lying areas of Victoria and Esquimalt, officials went door- to- door telling people to evacuate, while elsewhere sirens and text alerts were used to get the warning out. “I just heard the fire trucks going around, honking their horns and on the loud speaker saying there is a tsunami warning. It was very apocalyptic,” said UBC geography student Gillian Der in Queen Charlotte in Haida Gwaii.
3 EVACUATIONS ORDERED
People were told to evacuate inland or to higher ground, or move to an upper floor of a multi- storey building. In Tofino, on Vancouver Island, about 400 residents and tourists gathered with their pets at an emergency centre to prepare for evacuation. “Everyone was so calm,” said Mayor Josie Osborne. After the warning was cancelled, people cheered, she said.
4 AFTERMATH
Patricia Leidl, communications director with Emergency Preparedness BC, said there was a 15- cm rise in sea level at Tofino hours after the quake.
5 GOOD ‘ DRY RUN’
Although the tsunami warning was suspended after a few tense hours, the event demonstrated “that coast warning systems do work,” said B.C. Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth. Driftwood is strewn along Long Beach in Pacific Rim National Park in the wake of recent storms.