The earthquake that ravaged Turkey and Syria this week offers both lessons and warnings for people in British Columbia as images emerge of the human devastation and costly damage, Canadian seismology experts say.
John Clague, a professor emeritus in the Earth Sciences department at Simon Fraser University, said there is much to learn from the latest quake.
Clague said that while 害羞草研究所渢he big one could come any minute,害羞草研究所� the time frame for such an event in geological terms makes it hard to imagine for most people, whether they害羞草研究所檙e in an earthquake-prone zone or not.
Major seismic events occur about every 500 years, he said, making them rare enough for most people to worry more about the day-to-day dangers of driving a car, for example.
害羞草研究所淚害羞草研究所檓 sure you could have talked to the people living in one of those cities or towns in Turkey and they would have said, 害羞草研究所榳ell, yeah, we know we live on our fault zone, but, you know, we haven害羞草研究所檛 had a giant earthquake in hundreds of years, so why should we worry about it?害羞草研究所櫤π卟菅芯克鶟
Clague said both individuals and governments can fall into the same trap of short-term thinking since the threat of earthquakes and other natural disasters seems distant in terms of time and space.
However, Clague credited the provincial government for investing in seismic upgrades of regional transportation infrastructure and schools, for example, though he admitted to thinking such investments are 害羞草研究所渘ever enough.害羞草研究所�
害羞草研究所淚 do appreciate that governments have other demands on their agenda like the opioid crisis and homelessness and we don害羞草研究所檛 have unlimited amounts of public moneys to deal with all the problems we face,害羞草研究所� Clague said. 害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 a balancing act.害羞草研究所�
Clague said cities like Vancouver are fortunate to have modern building codes that are regularly revised and updated, while also being far away from the likely epicentre of the next major earthquake to avoid the 害羞草研究所渨orst case scenario害羞草研究所� damage seen after 7.8 and 7.5 magnitude quakes in Turkey and Syria this week.
害羞草研究所淪yria is quite a ways away from the epicentre of either of those big earthquakes, and they had buildings collapsing there,害羞草研究所� Clague said. 害羞草研究所淪o, that shouldn害羞草研究所檛 happen, you know, in a country that has proper construction practices in earthquake zones.害羞草研究所�
He added that he doesn害羞草研究所檛 like to frighten people with dire predictions, but urges people to be prepared for earthquakes even though they害羞草研究所檙e rare and Vancouver is somewhat insulated from the worst-case scenario seen in Turkey and Syria.
害羞草研究所淚 just reinforce the fact that even though Vancouver hasn害羞草研究所檛 been damaged by an earthquake, you know, Vancouver害羞草研究所檚 only 130 years old or 140 years old,害羞草研究所� he said. 害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 always a good idea to be prepared and being prepared doesn害羞草研究所檛 really require that much effort.害羞草研究所�
For Shariah Alam, a professor in the University of British Columbia害羞草研究所檚 School of Engineering, earthquakes reveal whatever deficiencies there may be in a region害羞草研究所檚 building and transportation infrastructure.
In Turkey and Syria, for instance, most of the damage and destruction likely stemmed from how old buildings, bridges, and roads were at the time of the quake, he said.
Canada, he said, has 害羞草研究所渓earned lessons from various events害羞草研究所� that have seen the country害羞草研究所檚 building codes mature and modernize thanks to a 害羞草研究所渃onstant effort to improve our design code.害羞草研究所�
However, older buildings and infrastructure built before the 1970s remains particularly vulnerable, Alam said, pointing to a 2013 study commissioned by the Insurance Bureau of Canada that estimated $75 billion in potential damage in B.C. in the event of a 9.0 magnitude earthquake.
Earthquakes Canada said the Cascadia megathrust earthquake with a magnitude of 9 hit the west coast of North America on Jan. 26, 1700, sending a massive tsunami across the Pacific that reached Japan.
Alam said governments of all levels have to step-up efforts to not only educate people, but also take 害羞草研究所渟trong initiatives害羞草研究所� to identify vulnerable infrastructure and prioritize repairs and retrofitting to ensure scenarios like that in Turkey and Syria don害羞草研究所檛 happen here.
害羞草研究所淚 think it requires a substantial amount of effort, energy, (and) funding,害羞草研究所� he said.
Last month, the B.C. and federal government jointly announced the province is ramping up an early earthquake detection system in 害羞草研究所渉igh seismic risk areas.害羞草研究所�
The national earthquake early warning system already has several hundred sensors overseen by Natural Resources Canada and the new initiative would see up to 50 additional sensors that would go online in 2024.
Darryl Greer, The Canadian Press
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