Earthquake detectors being tested

A early-warning system tested off the B.C. coast could gives people from 20 seconds to two minutes to prepare before an earthquake hits.

The first-of-its kind warning sensors developed by Ocean Networks Canada is installed along the Cascadia subduction zone and when fully operational next March will be able to estimate location and magnitude of a megathrust earthquake. Greig Bethel of Ocean Networks Canada, a program of the University of Victoria, says the system is active even as more sensors are being installed to increase accuracy.

A simulated exercise was conducted Thursday in Vancouver on the 19-kilometre Canada Line stretch of Metro’s SkyTrain system, giving transit operators a chance to slow down trains and hold them at stations.

B.C. is on the Pacific Ring of Fire, an active seismic zone where thousands of mostly small earthquakes are recorded annually by sensors in the province.

Most of the quakes happen near the Cascadia subduction zone, an area where the Juan de Fuca and North American tectonic plates converge, stretching from Vancouver Island to Northern California.

“Ocean Networks Canada’s earthquake early-warning technology promises a new era of earthquake preparedness that will enhance the safety of both riders and workers on the Canada Line,” says Canada Line general manager Ron Powell.

Earthquakes release energy that travels through the Earth as seismic waves in two waves.

The primary waves travel faster but the secondary waves are the cause of severe damage and ground shaking.