212 replies to this topic

[VicHockeyFan]

The odds of the major fault off of our coast ripping for several hundred kilometers is close to probable in the lifetime of my kids.

I don't believe this. Quakes don't have a wide radius of intensity. ie. a 8.9 centred in Nanaimo will do no damage here.

That's why I say the Island can never get "cut off" from food.

[kenjh]

if I can 't work for the next week or month I am ready ..food in storage ..mortgage payments..money for water ,hydro ..or make my own power ..that is being prepared ..not just and earthquake ,flood ..or what-have you ..no dependence on government hand out.no food bank ..no EI ..can you do the same ? that is being prepared

[Bernard]

I don't believe this. Quakes don't have a wide radius of intensity. ie. a 8.9 centred in Nanaimo will do no damage here.

That's why I say the Island can never get "cut off" from food.

When the Cascadia subduction zone rips it will be an earthquake several hundred kilometers long, it is not like the small localized single point earthquake.

The Cascadia megathrust earthquake of 1700 extended for 1000 kilometers.

Anchorage was located 120 kilometers from the Good Friday earthquake of 1964 and very severely damaged.

Santiago had significant damage in 2010 from an earthquake 250 kilometers away.

The 1960 Valdivia earthquake effected 400,000 square kilometers of Chile, 130,000 square kilometers severely which is an area four times the size of Vancouver Island.

The 2011 Japanese earthquake severely effected an area about twice the size of Vancouver Island.

Scientists are only beginning to understand the Cascadia subduction zone and each year the understanding indicates it is more significant than previously thought.

The last Cascadia earthquake was in the top ten of all earthquakes in the last 500 years. potentially in the top three.

[sebberry]

Geez, after reading that Bernard I'm glad I haven't wasted any money in survival supplies. Either my supplies will be crushed by the collapsed building and I won't be able to get to them, or I'll be crushed with them.

[Bernard]

Geez, after reading that Bernard I'm glad I haven't wasted any money in survival supplies. Either my supplies will be crushed by the collapsed building and I won't be able to get to them, or I'll be crushed with them.

You can take a look at these maps and see the relative danger your place is in.

I ran an earthquake drill in our house and we realized how unprepared we were. The seminars the City of Victoria puts on are worth going to because it makes you think about what you can and can not do to prepare.

Here is one simple stat I took away, the odds of experiencing a damaging earthquake in the next 50 years is higher than your odds of getting cancer.

[Mike K.]

Vancouver and Seattle burning with tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of people trapped under rubble will more or less siphon the majority of rescue resources. Vancouver Islanders will likely be left to fend for themselves for a longer period than we all think.

It's been stated over and over that we all need survival supplies to last for at least a week. Emergency crews will be unable to assist anybody until the region is stabilized and that will take at least one week to pull off.

I think the general disregard and lack of respect for an event of this magnitude will come back to haunt the majority of survivors. I too am hardly prepared, I mean to store and have ready multiple caches of supplies to last a week takes some money and planning.

At the very least I think we should all have an earthquake kit in our cars. I mean even if the vehicle is damaged by falling debris there's still a good chance you'll be able to recover some contents of an emergency kit. Another location to store supplies, if you can afford it, is in a single-storey storage space. These rent for about $60-$100 month and at worst you'll have to ram your vehicle through security fencing to get into the compound.

[sebberry]

You can take a look at these maps and see the relative danger your place is in.

I've looked at those before and have come to the conclusion that with a megathrust it won't matter where you are. My floor vibrates when the neighbour upstairs sits down, I don't think my building will survive anything more than a 6.0.

[LJ]

Vancouver and Seattle burning with tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of people trapped under rubble will more or less siphon the majority of rescue resources. Vancouver Islanders will likely be left to fend for themselves for a longer period than we all think.

It's been stated over and over that we all need survival supplies to last for at least a week. Emergency crews will be unable to assist anybody until the region is stabilized and that will take at least one week to pull off.

I think the general disregard and lack of respect for an event of this magnitude will come back to haunt the majority of survivors. I too am hardly prepared, I mean to store and have ready multiple caches of supplies to last a week takes some money and planning.

Costco sold survival kits that were good for a week for four persons and they were $75 or something. I bought one and put it in the basement, but I feel pretty safe, we are in a low hazard area and built on bedrock well above sea level

At the very least I think we should all have an earthquake kit in our cars. I mean even if the vehicle is damaged by falling debris there's still a good chance you'll be able to recover some contents of an emergency kit. Another location to store supplies, if you can afford it, is in a single-storey storage space. These rent for about $60-$100 month and at worst you'll have to ram your vehicle through security fencing to get into the compound.

Not if the road leading to it is impassable.

[kenjh]

nice .. I'm in a low hazard area ..above flood or tsunami ,have family and friends covered ,and involved ....now how about a good 9.9 to try things out ??

[sebberry]

now how about a good 9.9 to try things out ??

No, I'm not ready to die in this shack yet.

[Mike K.]

Not if the road leading to it is impassable.

True, you may not be able to drive to a storage container, but if you can get there on foot you'll have a cache of supplies in a relatively safe location.

[kenjh]

No, I'm not ready to die in this shack yet.

well how about a good 7.5 shaker ...

[Rob Randall]

I've looked at those before and have come to the conclusion that with a megathrust it won't matter where you are. My floor vibrates when the neighbour upstairs sits down, I don't think my building will survive anything more than a 6.0.

I thought that a flexible wood-frame building was a good building. It may shake like jello and be uninhabitable but it will stand long enough for you to escape. I think it's the poorly built concrete buildings that are deathtraps.

[VicHockeyFan]

It's been stated over and over that we all need survival supplies to last for at least a week. Emergency crews will be unable to assist anybody until the region is stabilized and that will take at least one week to pull off.

OK, but food is not a necessary supply if you are healthy. You can go a month with ZERO food before you feel health effects. The hunger feeling wares off after a few days. You need water though.

Hunger strike effects.

[SamCB]

At the very least I think we should all have an earthquake kit in our cars. I mean even if the vehicle is damaged by falling debris there's still a good chance you'll be able to recover some contents of an emergency kit.

This seems like a good time to mention that last summer I started a door to door 72 hour kit sales business. I have about 15 small leftover kits which are perfect for cars, and I want to get them out of my closet. Send me a PM if you want one for $40. They are the Basic kits from here: http://www.incaseof.ca/ico-72hrkits

When I was selling these things door to door I couldn't believe how many people had zero interest in getting prepared for an earthquake. Everyone knew the risk, but less than half of everyone I talked to had some type of preparation/plan in place. Unreal.

[VicHockeyFan]

This seems like a good time to mention that last summer I started a door to door 72 hour kit sales business. I have about 15 small leftover kits which are perfect for cars, and I want to get them out of my closet. Send me a PM if you want one for $40. They are the Basic kits from here: http://www.incaseof.ca/ico-72hrkits

When I was selling these things door to door I couldn't believe how many people had zero interest in getting prepared for an earthquake. Everyone knew the risk, but less than half of everyone I talked to had some type of preparation/plan in place. Unreal.

So were sales not what you'd hoped? You should have worn tattered, charred clothing, lots of costume blood, you'd look like a victim.

[gumgum]

Earthquake preparedness has been an ongoing subject among my neighbours. Our household is quite prepared for 2-3 weeks without power. Lots of food, water, propane.
But none of my neighbours I have spoken with are prepared at all. So when the big one happens, i fear I might be expected to share my provisions with everyone else.
One of my neighbours even joked that they don't need to worry about being prepared, they'll just come to our house.

*sign*

[Rob Randall]

OK, but food is not a necessary supply if you are healthy. You can go a month with ZERO food before you feel health effects. The hunger feeling wares off after a few days. You need water though.

Hunger strike effects.

This is true, but as long as there is water you should eat to maintain strength to help with rescuing survivors as it will likely take Ottawa several days to decide whether to send in elite rescue teams and the military. You can't even trust government to rush to a freaking shopping mall roof collapse.

[rjag]

Standard rule of survival taught to me when I lived in the UK is the rule of 3.

3 minutes without oxygen
3 days without water
30 days without food

Pretty basic stuff but makes a lot of sense.

So in our case if we have a major earthquake and our water system is damaged, you better be prepared to have access to clean water within 2 days if you want to stand a chance.

Its interesting to see new home construction with instant hot water on demand systems. They have no water tanks....yet in the UK and other parts of EU lots of homes and terraced houses etc have 200-500 gallon cisterns in their attic space, it was a very common practise after WW2 as it not only alleviated the need for drinking water it also maintained a regular pressure flow even in peak demand times.

[pherthyl]

The chance of a Japan-sized quake hitting Victoria in our lifetimes has got to be worse than one in 10,000 or 50,000, or 100,000. Ya, a big one might hit somewhere in BC in our lifetime, but the chance of it being here? Inconsequential. As a life-saving or life-extending, measure, you'd be far better off going and getting a full-body MRI every six months looking for an early cancer onset, or changing jobs to one where you drive less.

If it's going to hit, it's going to be on the coast. It's not like the chance of an earthquake is evenly distributed over BC. Ever heard of something called the Cascadia Fault? It's not up in Tumbler Ridge.

As for your probability of a big one... Where'd you get one in 10,000 or 50,000?
Everything I've heard is that big ones happen once every 300-600 years. The last one was 300 years ago. So let's say it is very likely to happen within 400 years from now. Typical lifetime of 80, I'm gonna say the chance is something like one in 5 for the lifelong Victoria resident.