Brief tsunami warning for coast
Reaction to quake in Alaska offered ‘very useful exercise’ in readiness
Tuesday’s short-lived tsunami warning was the closest thing to an emergency response practice without actually being a practice for many B.C. coastal communities.
A tsunami warning for the coastal areas of B.C. has been cancelled after a magnitude 7.9 earthquake in Alaska. The warning was issued early Tuesday, shortly after 1:30 a.m. However, at 4:30 a.m., an urgent message from Emergency Management B.C. stated that all warnings for coastal B.C. had been cancelled.
“We were fortunate ... in that it wasn’t a tsunami-producing earthquake, but they didn’t know that when the earthquake occurred,” said Simon Fraser University’s John Clague of the many coastal residents who were awakened in the middle of the night to the sound of a siren blaring and responded accordingly.
“You have to assume that any earthquake of that size beneath the ocean can produce a tsunami.”
The earth-sciences professor and quake expert said the event was, in the end, “a very useful exercise” for communities and local and provincial governments to ensure action was timely and responses went according to established emergency plans.
“It seemed like there was an appropriate response at the community level,” said Clague. “It was a far better response than the last incident after the Haida Gwaii earthquake.”
In October 2012, a magnitude 7.8 quake occurred near Haida Gwaii, its epicentre at Moresby Island.
It’s among the largest temblors recorded in Canada. During that event, B.C. officials were criticized for the delayed response and breakdown in communication with some coastal communities.
“A lot of the communities felt that they were just not properly notified and I don’t think you’re hearing that response from local communities now, so I think we’ve learned something, but we still have a long ways to go,” he said.
Port Alberni Mayor Mike Ruttan said his staff and the local residents responded as expected in a situation like a possible tsunami.
“I was really proud of the way people responded. When the alarms went off, literally thousands of people got themselves organized and out the door and headed for high ground and safety,” said Ruttan. “Those that had the grab-and-go bags — grabbed them and away they went.”
Ruttan acknowledged there is still room for improvement in terms of communication and that there has been serious consideration into buying technology that allows local authorities to send out a warning text message to all smartphone devices within a specific radius, such as what’s available over in Ucluelet.
“In a situation like this, it can be quite useful,” he said.
Tofino Mayor Josie Osborne said early Tuesday that she was amazed at how well residents mobilized to get to the evacuation centre.
Just after the quake hit, she got a text alert and heard the beach sirens, which Osborne said sounded within five minutes of the tsunami warning.
“Everything was so smooth. So many people at the evacuation centre said that the first thing they heard was the sirens,” she said.
She said the centre was packed with up to 400 people, most of whom were either visiting Tofino, which is one of B.C.’s most popular tourist destinations, or residents living near the beach. “Everyone was so calm,” she said. “The staff at the resorts went into high gear and people got into their cars and came into town. There were a lot of tourists and residents, and dozens of dogs, which was nice to see.”
The last tsunami warning was five years ago in Tofino, and Osborne said they have learned a lot since then.
Tofino now performs tsunami drills once a year, and monthly emergency preparedness events, like taking residents on “high-ground hikes,” to show them where they need to get to to escape a tsunami.
She said after the alert came in that the tsunami warning had been cancelled, people cheered and everyone went home.
Mike Farnworth, B.C.’s minister of public safety, issued a statement early Tuesday, noting that the event “demonstrates that coast warning systems do work.”
“Overnight, several communities along the coast activated their emergency plans and evacuated those at risk,” the statement read. “Emergency Management B.C. activated the Provincial Emergency Co-ordination Centre, and five provincial regional operations centres. The agency also supported local governments to evacuate residents.”
“You have to assume that any earthquake of that size beneath the ocean can produce a tsunami.” — John Clague