“The Tidal Wave of 1929 in Newfoundland Part 1” at http://www.lostatsea.ca/tidal.htm

“Tsunami!: The WWW Tsunami Information Resource” at http://www.geophys.washington.edu/tsunami/intro.html

Does anyone else feel like moving to the Prairies? This is a good article, and addresses the "what if" (or "what will") in a way I haven't seen anywhere else. But is the West Coast taking it seriously enough? Is anyone else having trouble sleeping at night?

As a parent of two children who attend one of Vancouver's many seismically "high-risk" public schools, I am very worried. Gordon Campbell's recent promise of a 15-year plan to upgrade schools comes only months before he faces an election. It was his government that scrapped the seismic mitigation program that was upgrading schools, and his govenment that has dramatically reduced annual ministry of education capital budgets that fund seismic upgrades. Interestingly, provincial jails and liquor distribution branches have been upgraded. I guess that tells us something about this government's priorities. Thousands of kids could be injured or killed, but the prisoners and booze are safe. This is really disgraceful.

Only by electing at least one MLA, that is a seismologist or geologist will I feel safer from an EARTHQUAKE. If there was at least one MLA that is a climatologist will I feel that some action is being taken on GLOBAL-WARMING. If there is one MLA that is a virologist/ biologist will I believe that some action is being taken to prepare B.C. for a FLU-PANDEMIC... I have not seen any evidence to suggest that a seismologist, a climatologist, a virologist, or any other scientist will become an elected MLA in May/2005. Until these conditions are met I feel like "Scared" in the above e-mail.

“Canadian Centre for Emergency Preparedness” at http://www.ccep.ca/

“Programs - Provincial Emergency Program” at http://www.pep.bc.ca/

I'll be paying attention to my dog's behaviour, I can tell you that much. In Taiwan on Sept 21,1999 he was acting strange all day, really quiet and just staring at me. I was starting to worry he was sick or something... that night Taiwan was hit by a 7.6 and over 2,000 died. If people can't get their act together let's at least pay attention to our animals with their fine-tuned sixth sense.

Crawford's article is excellent. I share Patti's concerns regarding the disgraceful record of the Campbell government with regard to the much needed seismic upgrading of our schools. For the information of "Scared Ranbir", I am a geologist living in the liquefaction-susceptible Fraser Delta (Ladner), and I am seeking the NDP nomination to contest the next provincial election in the riding of Delta South. I hope to be that geologist MLA he wishes to see elected in May!

Taiwan is far far away. You dog acting weird is just a coincedence.

First of all, "coincedence" is spelled coincidence, and maybe that person (Fi?) was IN Taiwan with his/her dog.

Ranbir how do you know there aren't scientists running etc? Have you read all the bios? What does it matter? One MLA can do nothing (look at the Leg right now) what we need is a Premier and a cabinet that will listen and prepare-we'll get that with carole James and Co. (especially with me around to bug them!). If you live in Central Saanich (or anywhere on the peninsula) note that there will be an emeregency preparedness meeting Jan 27 at Central Saanich Municipal Hall-watch for posters or email me

Besides all this remember that you will have to be responsible for yourselves for at least the first 72 hrs - do you have an emergency kit supplied to do that? Have you a neighbourhood plan (if not contact the Provincial Emergency Program for info on how to get one set up). No need to be sleepless on our coastline if you do what needs to be done--waiting for someone else isn't the answer.

I have not read all the bios, but I have read alot of bios and sadly scientific ability is very rare among elected-representatives. I am pleased to read that Dileep Athaide is a "geologist." Any virologist, climatologists, ecologists, chemists, biologists running??? Scientific-ability "matters" very much! It takes TIME to develop scientific-ability. Scientific facts are "truths" that have been verified by experiments and tests. It is only logical to base public-policy/laws on scientific facts. Previous generations of scientifically-illiterate elected-representatives have caused GLOBAL-WARMING and other serious long-term environmental problems that we have today.

Previous MLAs have also created the ALR which saved much of our rare arable land for agriculture; Harcourt's government gave us the 12% parks the Bruntland Commission recommended (not nearly enough in my book, but a start) and a good forestry code (now gutted) a UN-praised labour code (now destroyed) and much much more. Stop looking for someone else to fix things. Do it yourself. Run! Join a party! Make resolutions! Read the policies of the NDP (and others)! Note that when in government the NDP makes great use of the expertise of scientists etc. One of the things we were very good at was drawing in all stakeholders and letting them have a say too - sadly small business and others fell for the BIG LIE that we did not do that and now look what they've got-funny how looking for the pot at the end of the rainbow often causes you to stumble over the gold mine at your feet! Where did I say that scientific ability does not matter? Nowhere. One of the great failings of our democracy is that citizens DO NOT LISTEN in this case read, carefully enough and jump to conclusions. As a result they write off good ideas and fall for baloney. By the way there were MANY scientists in those "previous generations of...elected representatives" and yes they did fail to stop global warming. Read some more about who was in power my friend. Being a scientist does not make one morally superior or there wouldn't be so many scientists working for tobacco companies, big pharmceuticals, Adolf Hitler, George Bush etc. You have to scrutinize the scientists as carefully as any body else! After all the greatest scientists of the age gave us our nuclear nightmare and only a very few of them denounced it. Science is now panacea. Logic, a good heart, a sense of justice and basic honesty are better measures. Science is only a tool and can be used either well or foolishly (that's why California has nuclear reactors in high tsunami danger zones!). Cheers

Science is NO panacea, not noW! oops

Mr. Kilian. Regarding the 1700 Cascadia tsunami. We own some acrage on the West Coast of Vancouver Island near Port Renfrew in the middle of the San Juan River delta 3 kms from the ocean. While digging with a backhoe I've found a layer of very well preserved green vegetation several feet down. I know when I've hit this layer due to the instant sulpherous smell that fills the air. I thought that this buried "field" was due to a previous river flood but perhaps this grass was buried by the 1700 tsunami. Where would I find out more information about other sites of tsunami buried vegetation on the west coast of the Island? PS- I did some calculations. If (when) the "big one" hits 100 kilometers west of Port Renfrew and the resulting tsunami travels at 800 kph, then I would have about 7.5 minutes to load the cats, dogs, lifejackets and family in the truck, drive 3 kilometers towards the ocean and then a kilometer along the beach in order to reach high ground. Hopefully we'll be in Victoria buying groceries when it hits. Thanks for the informative article.

Hey, I found a copy of the Province in my back-yard from 1700! That Can-West rag blamed it and the resulting economic problems on the NDP :)

It also carried Norm Spector's regular column about how the CBC and Toronto Star are biased. Now THAT was earth-shattering! :)

And yes, I really do know that earthquakes are serious issues.

"BC Amateur Radio Coordination Council" at http://www.hazard.net/bcarcc/

“The University of British Columbia Amateur Radio Society” at http://www.ve7ubc.ampr.org/

Like Patti and thousands of other B.C. parents, I worry many mornings when I drop my child at our 100-year old Vancouver school, knowing it will collapse in a moderate/severe quake. Parents at our school, like many others, have repeatedly written Premiers, Opposition leaders, MLAs, MPs and local media for years, urging them to act..... In 2001, campaigning MLAs promised us this would be a priority, but then did nothing except cancel the existing school seismic mitigation program. Campaigning federal MPs promised the same last year but have done nothing since heading to Ottawa as Cabinet Ministers. Finally responding to the efforts of Families for School Seismic Safety and Dr Tracy Monk, our Premier has promised to speed up school seismic upgrading after the next election & to complete the job in 15 years..... Meanwhile, Seattle has almost finished fixing their schools and B.C. has committed billions to complete Olympic facilities, Whistler highway & RAV over 6 - 8 years. The Premier's announcement is a good start--more than others have done to date--but it's still far too little and far too slow, given the lives at stake: at least 200,000 B.C. children in at-risk schools. The risks facing hundreds of thousands of families in Richmond, Delta and other vulnerable areas are no less frightening.... We can never eliminate risk or totally control nature, but we can certainly mitigate impact and save lives if we don't bury our heads in the sand and we're prepared to pay the costs. How heartbreaking that so many had to die in Asia to remind us of the terrible and far higher costs of failing to do so. Please, let's not allow this to become a political football, but pull together to ensure it gets taken seriously and addressed quickly by whoever is in office in Victoria and Ottawa. When our children and our neighbours are gone, no amount of donations, tears, guilt or recrimination will ever bring them back.

Take a look at this site; http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_3-1-2005_pg7_37 Then ask just how much warning might anyone expect?

Haha... yeah, sorry I didn't clarify that. My dog was in Taiwan with me! He's from there, and I brought him back here in 2001.

Sue Stroud: Although you seem to think that the "Provincial Emergency Program" (PEP) will help you in a 9.2 earthquake, you may want to look into the "laws" of the program. I lost my home north of Squamish in the fall of 2003, I had not evacuated as I had farm animals to care for. When I was able to hike into town three days after the flood (PEP) would not assist me as I did not "evacuate", meanwhile they were putting up squatters and people that lived in tents! I practically had to beg before they would help. And when it came to assisting with my home, they were so stingy I could not afford to rebuild, and sold for land value only. From experience, my suggestion is to be as self reliant as possible, have an emergency kit prepared, water, canned food, and a first aid kit. If you think this government isn't helping you now, don't think they will in a disaster!!!

I used to work in a certain Vancouver high school and staff were told that sections of the building would definitely "pancake down" on top of us when we have a quake of a certain magnitude. That would mean about 1,000 people killed or injured.

Ranbir, I share your concerns that science really doesn't get the play it should from politicians. It is encouraging that Dileep Athaide, a geologist, is planning to run for the NDP in Delta South. One has to assume he would have a better grasp of the needs of his own constituents should the need ever arrive, than say some flight instructor who's skills appear to be centred around the ability to outrun embarrassing political events. But, as several writers have noted here, we have other real big issues that need addressing now (like global warming), but the world's top scientists appear to be getting nowhere convincing politicians to take their fears seriously. The problem for scientists who want to be politicians is in the making of promises. The scientist will review an issue and look for a solution. If there isn't one, it's assumed the scientist will say so. We all want honesty, but to many voters a used-car salesman with a can-do attitude, based on nothing more than bravado and a potential commission, has a much more saleable product. Issue all the caveat emptors you wish, but until voters realize we can't buy ourselves out of every problem, we'll unfortunately continue picking the brightest looking lemons with the most bitter of seeds.

“It is suicidal to create a society dependent on science and technology in which hardly anybody knows anything about science and technology.” - Carl Sagan

When it happens- Ill be the first to check and see how much relief the nations affected by the current disaster step up to help. Its always nice to see how much everyone rags on the 1st world but amazing as to which countries dig deep first when trouble hits. If a tsunami hits BC, Ill bet dollars to a round dog turd Muslim extremists, most of Asia and the rest of the world wont contribute a fiddlers f@#$

Steveoverhere, are you saying you resent the donations and help being sent to South Asia? Are you saying an area with a population of over a billion is nothing more than extremists who hate us all? I would suggest some travel in the future. You could even try making some friends from another culture. It's not so scary.

No, not at all, what I find ironic is that all the billions of dollars being poured into the area that is well known for fostering extremism toward the west. The same people who blow up buildings killing tourists ( Indonesia) and who have spent the last 20 years killing each other and mining everything in sight are now holding out their hands to the wealthly west for assistance. I have nothing against helping innocent people but there is a certain irony here. And by the way, I have travelled quite a bit and have a large number of friends from other cultures. Some of which are our own who could sure use some of those funds we are so quick to throw to other countries. Been down to the eastside of Vancouver lately, or downtown Prince George?

EASY to be negative! Armchair critic. What do suggest? Give up and allow these people a slow death? The percentage of extremists in a population of millions is low yet you condemn a nation on the actions of a few. By the way we do help our own. Our poorest still have a higher standard of living than these people. We have choice.......and the opportunity to attain a better standard of living if we are willing to be think out of the box and get off our butts.

Well, I'm going to play devil's advocate here and argue that "our poorest" do NOT have a higher standard of living than "these people". In what way do they? Atleast "those people" have a sense of community that we can't even begin to comprehend. If one has no home, an empty stomach and barriers to health care, whether you are in Canada or Thailand- your standard of living is bottom line. Steveoverhere has valid points. Maybe that's why we are able to ignore our own poor so guiltlessly; we convince ourselves that "Well, hell, they are in Canada, that alone gives them a certain 'standard of living.'"

Fi, you certainly are right that an empty stomach is a true equalizer. I also prefer your take on why we don't want to offer much compassion to our own poor over Get Going's cavalier inferral that our poor are simply not creative enough and or too lazy to help themselves. He sounds like a new era Liberal with a bootstrap puller for rent. But Steveoverhere takes the Marie Antoinette cake with his "Muslim extremists" comments and rants against the entire world that hates us all here in our first world wealth. To expect that third world or even poorer nations to respond in kind to a disaster here in North America is a bit much. At this point in history the west has the money, yet poorer countries could always help us out by exporting some of that "sense of community," which Fi mentioned above and which we in our laptop world have lost. It doesn't excuse our niggardly treatment of our own poor, but then describing entire nations as terrorists suggests Steveoverhere also brought a certain amount of preconceived bias into this discussion. That said, however, Steveoverhere's mention of downtown Prince George shouldn't be ignored. Perhaps if Prince George could import some third world "sense of community" some of it might drift downtown to city hall. That's where the decision to allow developers to build big box stores outside the core retail area was the final nail in the downtown's cofin.

I dont consider what i said as a rant. I belive Canada should be seen throught the world as a good and decent country that shares as much as it can. I do have a problem with countries that continually export fear and hatred and whos people get here and immediatetly start making this country like the one they couldnt wait to get away from in the first place. Yes we need to be kind and helpful but we need to look after each other first. Charity, it is said, begins at home. Lets not all trip over ourselves spending money around the world whn kids are starving and men are freezing to death here in our own home. Lets not all blame the Liberals either, no political party has a lock on ignorance. At least with this party we HAVE a pot to piss in.

I can agree with or at least accept much of what steveoverhere has written but I would suggest that his final sentence "at least with this party we HAVE a pot to piss in" leaves us with the question if, in fact there is a pot to piss in why do the Liberals piss all over the rest of us?

as opposed to the last 10 years when were both hopeless and potless :-) What I meant was now at least we have a pot to begin to consider chaning how we treat our disadvantged and poor. Whereas before we couldnt afford to do anything about it, now we have a chance.

Stevoverhere it appears that you have come through some difficult times,yet you come across as being very confident and up beat,that attitude will go along way in helping you achieve life's little and large goals,life can deal us some lousy hands at times, I know that personally, let no one discourage you or distract you from attaining what you may disire to do or have.

The schools constructed by the City of South Vancouver before amalgamation into the present City of Vancouver are woefully inadequate if there is a large quake today. These school, all alike in looks (Sexsmith, Van Horne, Wolfe, etc.) were built during the depression with depression budgets and many corners were cut in their construction such as not binding the rafters to the ceiling joists to save costs. Many upgrades have covered this problem for most schools. The outer walls were secured by rods to prevent the buildings from pancaking in event of the roof collapsing. Another problem is the brick claddings of the schools which are in danger of peeling because the metal straps holding the bricks to the walls have deteriorated and will probably no longer hold in a really bad quake. The bricks probably would be falling as the children were evacuating the school. There is also a the question of the slate shingles on the steeply pitched roofs, will they hold in a severe quake? How do the teachers and children exit the school with debris falling from the walls and roofs? The concrete foundations of most of these schools are also a question mark as much of it was laid on bare ground with no vapour shield to keep moisture from entering the brickwork and the concrete itself. These schools were constructed as a shell and rooms added as the population of the area grew. In many cases these buildings would be better torn down and replaced. Probably the oldest group of at-risk buildings in the Province are our schools and they should have been upgraded or replaced. I wonder which Government will be in power when the quake happens and which 'past' one they will attempt to blame? The professional excuse writers will help elected officials cover their collective butts amidst much hand wringing. Trouble is the present bunch have the ability to fix the problem now but they are definitely dragging their feet on a proper solution. Notice that the Legislature itself has been upgraded. So just who do our politicians think are more important, children or themselves?

A letter I must admit I sent to the Vancouver Sun (and was published there Wednesday Jan 19): For more years than I care to remember, I've had a recurring dream: I am somewhere along English Bay, often in the West End but sometimes at Ambleside or across the bay at Jericho, and I feel or hear a rumbling. I look toward the west, toward where I would normally see Vancouver Island, but instead, there is a huge, foaming green wall of water racing toward me. Since there is no practical way we can defend our coastal areas against a large tsunami, not by dikes (how high would you make them?) or diversionary channels, then we must face the fact that sooner or later our communities will be hit by something larger than we can handle. Common sense might say, don't build close to the water or on land level with or even below the tideline, but we place a high value on land with an ocean front view or, better yet, access. Believe me, dream or not, if I had the money, I would have a place on the water instead of a two-bedroom apartment on Broadway. So it comes down to what measures are in place to warn, evacuate and deal with the aftermath of a tidal calamity, or an earthquake that wreaks havoc in Vancouver or Victoria. And how much do we want to spend on such preparations given that we have no idea when they might occur? It's a bit like those bomb shelters some people built in the 1960s and the "duck and cover" instructions some children got in schools (as if that would have done anything). I know there's a good chance of an earthquake here, but do I have an earthquake survival kit in the apartment? I could probably dig out a flashlight, a bottle or two of water, some cat food and that's about it. Will I put together a kit? Will you? Even after our awareness is re-awakened by a tragedy elsewhere, we are a head-in-the-sand people who would rather spend our money on "sure" things even though every living geoscientist says a large magnitude quake, or tsunami, or even a volcanic eruption, is just as likely to happen tomorrow as 50 or 100 years from now. In my recurring dream, the wall of green water roars toward me. I turn to run, but there is nowhere to go.

Steveoverhere; I just noticed your response to my criticism and especially that line about "countries that export fear" etc. Why are you picking on the Americans like that? Also, could you explain that "pisspot" thing once again. Sorry, but I was under the impression our Liberal government had recently sold it off even though it had been working quite well since 1991 when Bill VanderZalm's (sorry, Rita was asked to flush and turn off the lights, wasn't she), rusty bucket was kicked into the gutter. Give at home first, you say? We already have. We gave away BC Rail, BC Ferries, our medical services files, control of our oil and gas, most of our forest reserves. We've been more generous than you realize my friend.

Government (no matter which stripe) brings no particular talent to running anything. As a matter of fact, by definition, government cannot run anything properly. While private industry does have their problems, I think it is far and away the lesser of 2 evils in almost anything. When you are 4 feet under and digging fast, the most important thing is to stop digging first. As far as the pisspot, I think we have bought it back from Ottawa, where the previous administration took it when they went begging for a handout.