Tsunami Risk Increases for Vancouver Island

North Saanich -- Just when you thought you wouldn't live to see a major earthquake in BC, think again. A magnitude 6.1 shaker hit southern Japan today. While there were no immediate reports of damage and no tsunami alerts, seizmologists say it's a wakeup call. They say an even larger earthquake could shake Oregon and Claifornia within the next fifty years triggering a tsunami al lthe way up to Vancouver Island.
Researchers at the University of Oregon took another look at the Cascadia subduction zone which runs from Northern California to BC. They found that it's not one, but four segments, and the southern end has a major quake roughly every 240 years. Scientists say the area is overdue for a major earthquake based on the new report. They predict that the southern end of the fault has a 37 per cent chance of triggering a strong earthquake within the next half-century, in turn creating a massive tidal wave which could impact Vancouver Island.
The impact of such a tsunami could be as devastating as the wave that washed out Port Alberni in 1964. It was trigger by a massive 9.2 quake in Alaska

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