The Earthquakes Canada Map of Quakes from 1627-2021 for BC |
The sensors will connect to the national Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) system that will be operational in 2024, supplementing and complementing several hundred sensors already installed by Natural Resources Canada.
The system will give seconds to tens of seconds of warning before the strongest shaking arrives at coastal communities in British Columbia and will assist in the protection of critical transportation infrastructure in British Columbia.
The expansion of the system in British Columbia follows on an initial placement back in 2022 at the BC Ferries Terminal at Horseshoe Bay.
The full BC system which will be part of a nationwide connection is expected to see installation complete and in service by 2024.
As both governments note from their Announcement, alerts from the EEW system could also be used towards infrastructure safety systems, allowing for automatic action, among the areas of note for that include:
Triggering trains to slow down
Stopping traffic from driving onto bridges or into tunnels
Diverting incoming air traffic
Allowing surgeons to stop surgery
Closing gas valves
Opening fire hall and ambulance bay doors
The placement of the sensors was hailed as a critical addition to the system by Bowinn Ma, BC's Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Change.
“The Cascadia Megathrust Earthquake that occurred on January 26, 1700, was one of the world’s strongest earthquakes, causing widespread destruction to coastal Indigenous communities and producing a tsunami that swept across the Pacific Ocean.Cross posted from the North Coast Review.
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