Active earthquake fault line found in Elk Lake area
An international team of academics has mapped the fault line, which could lead to an earthquake big enough to topple downtown buildings
The team identified an earthquake along the fault line between 2,300 and 4,700 years ago, which in a geological time frame is relatively recent, Nissen said.
“The Earth’s crust is riddled with faults that are hundreds of millions of years old. But you know, most of them don’t continue to be active today. But if you see something that has been active just in the last few thousand years, then we call it an active fault,” he said.
The earthquake linked to the fault line was of a magnitude between 6.1 and 7.6.
If an earthquake of a magnitude in that range were to hit along the fault line today, it would be “very, very damaging,” Nissen said.
Some older buildings would likely collapse, including some schools, brick buildings downtown, the legislature and the Royal B.C. Museum.
“We certainly don’t rule out there being fatalities, people sort of buried in rubble,” he said.
There could be damage to the Pat Bay Highway, since the fault line crosses the highway, and major transportation issues as a result.
https://www.timescol...ke-area-7948145
an earthquake along the fault line between 2,300 and 4,700 years ago, which in a geological time frame is relatively recent, Nissen said.
It is, but in a human lifetime scale, it's ages ago. As in at least 115 generations ago.
Edited by Victoria Watcher, 09 December 2023 - 05:25 AM.