Canada experiences thousands of earthquakes each
year, even if most are not felt on the surface.
Of the 3,900 seismic events recorded in Canada in the last year, only
700 were a 3 or above on the Richter scale.
Of those, only 13 at registered a 5 or higher. The majority of these events occur on the
pacific coast, particularly in British Columbia. A large earthquake in a densely populated
area along the western Canadian coast would be the most destructive and most
likely natural disaster to occur in Canada.
In areas of
Canada that are impacted by earthquakes, there strict building codes designed to greatly reduce the risk of
structure collapse. However, studies over the last several decades show that
you are more likely to be injured by falling or flying household items than to
die in a collapsed building. Because of
this, Canada has been promoting “Drop, Cover, and Hold On” in the event of an
earthquake. This technique can prevent
injury in the event of an earthquake that causes falling debris. In addition, it has also been shown that
sturdy tables and desks often hold their ground when a building collapses,
often supporting the collapsing floor from above.
The National Building
Codes are used to design and constructing buildings to be as resistant to earthquake damage as possible. While this code is used to take every
precaution necessary, there large earthquakes can still cause serious damage to
any building. There are very different
sets of standards for western and eastern Canada. The measures on the west coast are much more
rigorous, as the majority of Canada’s seismic activity occurs along the Juan de
Fuca, the North American, and the Pacific plates.
http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/eng/dimensions/issue8/earthquakes.html
Hello David,
ReplyDeleteIt is very interesting to know that the plates in Canada tend to affect the earthquakes in the land very gradally. You said that the seismic activity occurs along the Juan de Fuca, the North American, and the Pacific plates. That is very close to California in a way. Good post!