Tsunami Preparedness

A large earthquake occurred in the Pacific Basin near Kodiak, Alaska. The National Tsunami Warning Center has issued a cancellation for all watch, advisory and warning notices for coastal British Columbia that were issued for this event.

In View Royal, the evacuation was a precautionary one based on the warnings from Emergency Management BC. View Royal Fire selected homes closest to the water in the lowest lying areas to notify first, and therefore, as a precaution, included the homes on Caton, Werra, and Christie Point areas. Our volunteer firefighters provided these residents with three options:  move to the second floor of the home, move to higher ground and listen to CFAX radio for the 'all clear' message, or check in at the reception centre at Juan de Fuca Seniors Centre until receiving the 'all clear' message.

Typically earthquakes that are not from the Cascadia subduction zone (150-200km off the west coast of Vancouver Island) do not pose as significant a threat. This particular earthquake was 7.9M and was over 1500km away, therefore much less of a tsunami threat than a Cascadia earthquake. Of note the predicted water rise in the Esquimalt Harbour from a 9.0M Cascadia earthquake is listed as a maximum height of 9 ft. As such, most homes in View Royal are relatively safe. 'High ground' in many cases may just be the second floor of a home or for added reassurance relocation to a few blocks inland or uphill.

Tsunami Preparedness Links: