How big might the vancouver earthquake be...?

Question

i really need to know because i dont want to die and im freaking out soooo badly...

pls answer honestly... :(

Answer 1

Well, it could be a big one. The 1960 quake in Chile was around a 9.5, there is no reason that the Vancouver-Seattle area could have that as well.  There was a quake called the Cascadia quake estimated at 9.0 in the 1700's.  300 years to a geologist is a fraction of a blink of an eye!

Whether you should be "freaking out" or not depends on a lot of things.  If you live in a properly secured wooden house close to bedrock, lets say in West Vancouver or North Vancouver, the worst thats going to happen is you are going to lose electricity, gas, and water, and you are getting cracks in your wall.  If you live in an old multi-level concrete building in Richmond...well, thats a different story. But it won't be as bad as what has happened in China because in North America our buildings have wood and steel structures, rather than just low quality concrete and mud bricks.

You can't predict the timing of an earthquake, but you can be certain that there will be one.  Therefore you can, and should, prepare for it - bottled water, first aid & survival supplies, securing bookshelves and hot water heaters, etc.

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learning/prep...

http://www.redcross.org/services/disaste...

http://www.fema.gov/areyouready/earthqua...

http://www.pep.bc.ca/hazard_preparedness...