'Every Second Counts': Launch of BC Earthquake Early Warning System

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As British Columbians prepare for the next big earthquake, they now have a new tool to help warn them of an impending quake.

The federal government announced on Thursday that the earthquake early warning system is now operational in the province.

Using a network of sensors, the early warning system will detect earthquakes of magnitude 5 or greater and automatically send an alert via the national public warning system to cell phones, radios and televisions. The alert will give people “seconds to tens of seconds before strong shaking begins” and a short time to “cover, shelter and wait,” according to Natural Resources Canada.

“These critical seconds may not seem like much right now, but they will mean life or death for many people during a severe earthquake here in British Columbia,” said Bowen Ma, BC’s Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Preparedness, in the announcement released Thursday.

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Natural Resources Canada says the warnings will also trigger automatic precautionary measures for trains, bridges and tunnels. These measures include warning aircraft not to land, stopping trains to prevent derailments and blocking traffic from accessing bridges and tunnels.

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“During an earthquake, every second counts,” said Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson.

“Every year, approximately 5,000 earthquakes are recorded in Canada. Fortunately, most of these earthquakes are small and do not pose a serious threat. But large, destructive earthquakes can and will occur.”

The system is part of Ottawa’s $36 million plan to develop early warning systems to protect earthquake-prone areas and more than 10 million people. Investments began in 2019 and the full earthquake early warning system is expected to be operational in eastern Ontario and southern Quebec later this year.

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The two areas in Canada identified as most at risk for devastating earthquakes are western British Columbia and the corridor between Ottawa and Quebec City, Wilkinson says.

Although the earthquake early warning system cannot predict earthquakes, it is an improvement over the previous system, which could only issue warnings after the event occurred. The farther people are from the epicenter of an earthquake, the longer the warning period they have.

According to ClimateReadyBC, the province experiences several thousand earthquakes a year, but we only feel about 50 of them.

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