In North America, when you talk about the _big one_ with regards to earthquakes, it’s usually about the San Andreas fault and something to do with California falling off into the sea. With the devastating earthquake and subsequent tsunamis of December 2004, it became more apparent that even west coast Canadians were at risk of such after affects. But huge Canadian earthquakes? Nah.
Not to scare the living b’Jesus out of our west coast brethren, but today’s _Globe and Mail_ is reporting the possibility of a big one hitting Vancouver Island… real soon-like.
bq. Scientists have alerted British Columbia’s emergency-planning department to the possibility of a catastrophic earthquake striking the province’s southwest coast next week.
While the probability of a quake is still low, rapid strides in earthquake detection have given federal scientists with the Pacific Geoscience Centre on Vancouver Island greater confidence in their ability to predict when and where one will occur. Garry Rogers, a seismologist at the centre, compared the current earthquake odds to the dangers of driving a car.
“Everyone drives their car every day, and the probability of getting in a car accident is small,” Dr. Rogers said. But during rush hour, the probability of getting into an accident is much higher. “Well, Vancouver Island is now driving in rush hour.”
Well hoooooly fuck!