Media release

For immediate release

Tsunami Preparedness Week is April 10-16

Saanich, BC – The District of Saanich is participating in Emergency Management BC’s Tsunami Preparedness Week by encouraging residents to develop their own personal emergency preparedness plan and understand the tsunami risk in Saanich.  

On Good Friday, 1964 Port Alberni B.C. experienced a tsunami which moved houses and caused significant damage throughout the community. 250 years earlier many coastal areas of Vancouver Island experienced a significant tsunami following a major earthquake along the Cascadia Subduction Zone. That event was been captured in indigenous oral histories and was measured and dated as far away as Japan. These events serve as important reminders that tsunamis have occurred in our region and will occur again.

With this history in mind the District of Saanich recently collaborated with regional partners to complete the Capital Region Coastal Flood Inundation Mapping Project. This work provides a comprehensive picture of coastal flooding due to rising sea levels and tsunamis. One of the results of this project will be updates to the publicly available maps of tsunami hazard zones. These updates will be available through the online SaanichMap GIS service and printed map brochures this spring.

“Tsunami Preparedness Week provides a great opportunity for Saanich residents to develop or update their emergency plan,” said Saanich Deputy Fire Chief Brock Henson. “The primary tsunami risk in our region is from a Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake, and the strong shaking from this event is nature’s warning to move to higher ground or inland, four meters vertical from the high tide line.”

The Saanich Emergency Program hosts Speaker Series on a variety of topics to gain emergency preparedness insights. On May 4, 2022 we will host guest speaker Teron Moore, from NSC Seismic. Teron will discuss seismic hazards and how modern approaches are informing earthquake and tsunami risk reduction in British Columbia. His presentation looks into all-of-society, action-oriented and wellness-based risk management approaches. Please join us for the presentation:

Date: Wednesday, May 4, 2022
Time: 7 to 8 p.m.
Location: Cedar Hill Recreation Centre
Register by calling 250-475-7121

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Media contact:
Erin Stockill, Saanich Emergency Program Officer
Saanich Fire Department
250-475-7140