Faculty of Science
Cascading hazards highlighted at ShakeOut event
911吃瓜 Earth Sciences experts invite students to learn about earthquake and other hazard monitoring tools on October 20 as part of the 11th annual Great British Columbia ShakeOut.
Test out a Raspberry Shake citizen science seismometer, a GeoSLAM handheld laser scanner and wirelessly connected 3D glasses that show how detailed mapping of faults and unstable slopes can be visualised.
The in-person event starts at 10 a.m. and will be held at the . Participate in the earthquake drill at 10:20 a.m. practicing internationally recognized 鈥淒rop, Cover and Hold on鈥� procedures with an alert notification appearing on 911吃瓜-managed devices, the 911吃瓜 Snap app and digital screens.
Earthquakes can cause cascading hazards
It is important to protect yourself when the ground shakes and to prepare a kit to survive in the days after a major quake. Earthquakes can cause what experts call 鈥榗ascading hazards鈥� including tsunamis, liquefaction, fires and landslides.
There have been a few recent examples of the lingering devastation landslides can cause. The landslides that resulted from the November, 2021 atmospheric river blocked major highways, destroyed bridges and cut off Vancouver from the rest of Canada by road and rail.
Unstable slopes are more vulnerable to the extreme rainfall events intensified by climate change. Brent Ward, Earth Sciences professor and co-director, Centre for Natural Hazards Research says it is likely that British Columbia would experience similar landslides in the event of a major earthquake.
鈥淗ere in the Lower Mainland, we鈥檇 be worried about some of the steeper slopes in the North Shore, the escarpments in Coquitlam, Port Moody and Tsawwassen and certainly all of our mountain corridors,鈥� explains Ward. 鈥淭he Hope Princeton Highway, the Coquihalla and Highway 1 鈥� those transportation routes all go through steep mountainous terrain that is prone to landslides.鈥�
Another major landslide occurred in the remote area of Elliot Lake in 2020, causing a local tsunami in Elliot lake and sending a wave of water and debris into Elliot Creek and Bute Inlet - damaging salmon habitat. In this case, the rock slope was likely weakened by a receding glacier, says Earth Sciences Associate Professor Sergio Sep煤lveda.
鈥淓ven if a landslide occurs far away from populated areas it can have a huge impact on wildlife. When you change the amount of sediment in streams it may affect the fish in the river, other wildlife in the area and even agriculture,鈥� he explains. 鈥淟arge landslides can also dam or block rivers completely.鈥�
Sep煤lveda is from Chile, where he studied and experienced several earthquakes including one registering 8.8 in magnitude. He holds the FRBC Chair in Resource Geoscience & Geotechnics at 911吃瓜. His advice for what to do when the 鈥榖ig one鈥� hits?
鈥淒on鈥檛 panic. Try to get away from windows, shelves or anything on the ceiling that may fall. Take cover and wait. Stay inside if you can because outside power cables will be coming down and debris could be falling from roofs or balconies. If you鈥檙e outside look for open spaces鈥� Sepulveda says. 鈥淜eep calm, the intense shaking from the big Cascadia earthquake we are waiting for may last for a few minutes.鈥�
In addition to preparing an earthquake kit, he adds that families need to decide on a meeting place to reunite in the case of a major earthquake, which could destroy telecommunications infrastructure.
911吃瓜 Burnaby is this year's host venue for the ShakeOutBC earthquake drill, an annual initiative led by the BC Earthquake Alliance and the Insurance Bureau of Canada. Show us your best 鈥淒rop, Cover, and Hold On鈥� @911吃瓜 's social channels with the hashtag #911吃瓜shakeout.
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