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Massive tsunami unlikely here

East coast of Vancouver Island protected by west coast, but evacuations possible
20974parksvilleTsunamiB.C.web
Official tsunami warnings are issued by the provincial emergency program in B.C. in five different danger zones.

After more than 200,000 died in the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, Parksville developed a tsunami emergency plan.

The good news is District 69 is protected by Vancouver Island — meaning waves from distant earthquakes would have to bounce around the island, loosing power, explained Parksville emergency program co-ordinator Aaron Dawson.

The city took advantage of federal funding after the 2004 event and experts from Simon Fraser University and the University of B.C. helped the city establish that the largest likely tsunami here would be two metres.

That would damage low lying areas but be relatively easy to escape in the local topography.

“Those horrific and sad pictures of waves rolling and rolling across the fields wouldn’t happen here,” Dawson said, pointing out that areas like Community Park would be evacuated, but you would be safe on Highway 19A looking down on the park.

B.C.’s provincial emergency program (PEP) would be the lead agency in a major disaster and is the best source for information on emergency planning and current disasters.

PEP divides tsunamis into three categories based on their origin — “local” from events on B.C.’s coast or inner waters, “regional” from the U.S. or Canadian west coast, or “Pacific-wide” from outside the west coast.

The Pacific-wide tsunamis are the most likely to be large but take six to 18 hours to reach B.C. and wouldn’t do much damage in the Straight of Georgia.

For distant events, PEP would begin warning emergency services and the public through the media and their Interactive Voice Response System which can make 125 calls every seven minutes. There is a small chance of a local earthquake within the straight causing tsunamis with very little time for warnings and evacuations.