Earthquake message proves a hard sell in Vancouver

Vancouver is awaiting the "Big One".

With its location in the Cascadia subduction zone, a seismically-active area, the question is not if an earthquake will hit the Canadian city, but when.

For generations Vancouverites have heard that a major earthquake is due to hit the city "once every 500 years", but it has never happened. As a result, locals have grown pessimistic and even indifferent to the possibility of it ever happening. The last major quake was thought to have hit the city about 300 years ago, long before western settlers arrived.

Yet, with its location on the Pacific west coast, along a stretch that includes Anchorage, Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles, cities that have all been hit and damaged by earthquakes, new research points out Vancouver's time could be closer than originally thought.

According to research released by the University of Oregon earlier this year, there is a one-in-three chance that a major earthquake could strike the Pacific Northwest, an area home to Seattle, Portland, Vancouver and Victoria, within the next 50 years.

The researchers believe Cascadia is not one large subduction zone stretching from northern California to British Columbia, as previously thought, but at least four separate segments. They suggest that instead of the entire fault rupturing at once, it will break into smaller parts with more frequent earthquakes.

"We need to be ready for it," states Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson, who has made environmental issues for the city his top priority since taking office two years ago."There's a huge role for citizens to be prepared. I don't think Vancouverites are anywhere near as ready as they should be in their homes. We see significantly more energy and preparedness and awareness around California, for example. We're looking at some of their educations efforts to implement here."

The city currently has an emergency preparedness team promoting to residents to "Be prepared not scared" for the possibility, and that earthquakes usually strike without warning. The program includes online videos to help families and individuals be better prepared for a disaster, and a "Neighborhood Emergency Preparedness Program" involving workshops to get residents ready for getting through the crucial first 72 hours of a quake, among others.

Yet, with local research showing only 17 percent of Vancouverites prepared for the possibility of an earthquake, Robertson said more needed to be done to drive the message home. "There's no question that eventually it will happen."

The city is currently looking at California, an old hand at earthquake disasters dating back to the 1800s when the first western settlers to bring some of their best practices to Vancouver.

"It's never happened and there aren't steady reminders of earthquakes as there are in California and other places," said Robertson, a distant relative of the famed Sino-Japanese War hero Dr. Norman Bethune. "The concern is because we don't have those reminders people aren't well prepared."

If Robertson needs any further reminder, immediately across the street from his city hall office is a new store looking to get people prepared for the possible disaster.

Opened over the summer in the basement of a local mall, Krasiki and Ward is a non-descript, windowless store akin to a wartime bunker. Originally starting as a supplier of industrial supplies, first aid and safety equipment, the company branched into " emergency preparedness" when the sale of its "survival kits", all hand-assembled, started to draw interest.

Lining the shelves of the modest store is a range of emergency lighting devices, instant food that can heat itself, "space blankets", first-aid supplies, a wind-up radio that doubles as a flashlight, and a toilet in a tent, among other items.

Scott Larson, the store's sale manager, points out there is basic things that are going to be needed to survive a major earthquake and its aftermath. Water is most critical, followed by food and sanitation items as plumbing will "probably be one of the critical infrastructures that is damaged". "The basic approach to the first 72 hours is 'let's take care of ourselves, find a safe place, stay put and just survive'. After that, the priority becomes to go out and find where the food is coming from, where the help is coming from."

The survival kits which start at 40 Canadian dollars (about 41 U.S. dollars) contains such items as dried food, sanitation supplies (garbage bags, rolls of compacted toilet paper without the core to save space), pressure dressings, antiseptic wipes, bandage, waterproof matches and lightweight Myler "space blankets" that help retain 80 percent of body heat.

There are also glow sticks which last up to 12 hours and are an excellent source of light and a safer alternative to lighting a candle. The latter is not suggested with the possibility of gas leaks in a quake aftermath.

"The food that we sell (in the survival kits) is specifically prepared so that it provides a great amount of energy, but it doesn't stimulate thirst. That is because water is going to be at such a premium," Larson said, pointing out the purified water that comes in the kit. Each is in a foil pouch so no air gets in and the reason why it maintains a long shelf life.

Each compact "grab-and-go bags, which should be kept in a car or in a closet at home close to an exit, are designed to last about five years.

Larson adds anybody could create their own "survival kit", but there were advantages to having a prepared kit. Dried food is preferred to canned food which only has a limited shelf life and needs to be rotated regularly. It was also heavy to transport. Bottled water lasts only six months.

Some dried foods also had disadvantages as they could be bulky and difficult to keep and carry in a useable condition. Humidity was another factor that could affect food.

"Part and parcel of an earthquake kit is first aid and some other things to deal with the conditions. If this happens during the winter we'll need to keep warm and dry and it should be a priority to have some light sources as well to find your way around," Larson said.

"A lot of emergency management agencies are starting to say people should be prepared to get by for longer than 72 hours. But usually some form of help should be able to arrive, either the military or health and aid organizations within that time frame. An earthquake kit should be easily portable."

Source: Xinhua