Submitted. It’s that time again for all citizens of British Columbia to get ready to participate in earthquake preparedness by participating in the ShakeOut BC Drill scheduled for 10:17 a.m. on October 17, 2013.
This means that on October 17th wherever you are at that moment—at home, at work, at school, anywhere—you should Drop, Cover, and Hold On as if there were a major earthquake occurring at that very moment, and stay in this position for at least 60 seconds or until the shaking stops.
“The main goal of ShakeOutBC is to get British Columbians prepared for major earthquakes since we live in a seismically active region,” said Mayor Bruce Banman. “Everyone should use the ShakeOutBC drill as an opportunity to learn what to do before, during, and after an earthquake.”
Earthquake preparedness is extremely important for British Columbia residents. BC is part of the “Ring of Fire” which is a 40,000 kilometer horseshoe area where a large number of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur in the basin of the Pacific Ocean. The ring of fire starts at the southern tip of New Zealand, up the east coast of Asia then crosses over to Alaska and runs down the west coast of North and South America.
Off the west coast of British Columbia, the Cascadia Zone includes a portion of the Pacific Plate with the small Juan de Fuca Plate which is sliding beneath the North American Plate creating a volatile fault line. In Abbotsford, the Boulder Creek fault line starts just east of Bellingham, Washington running 11 kilometres long and 17 kilometres wide and runs under 1 kilometer beneath the surface.
Additional earthquake preparedness information is available online at www.shakeoutbc.ca.