Three earthquakes occurred off the coast of Vancouver Island on Sunday morning between 2:58 a.m. and 8:18 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time (PDT), Earthquakes Canada says. The magnitude 5.5 earthquake, the strongest in the series, occurred at a depth of eight kilometers, about 213 kilometers west of Port Hardy.
There are no fears of a tsunami following these three earthquakes and no damage has been reported, adds Earthquake Canada.
Marine mammal ecology researcher Lyne Morissette explains that a tremor of this magnitude is normally felt if you are where the epicenter is, but since its location is under the ocean, far from land, the probability that it has been felt is the slightest. vibration is low.
We have a nice system of sensors capable of feeling or counting this type of tremor on the high seas.
specifies.
The approximate location of the earthquake epicenter.
The series of tremors in British Columbia comes more than a week after the catastrophic earthquake in Morocco that left thousands dead. Is there a link between the activities of the Earth’s crust here and elsewhere?
For now, it seems to be a matter of luck. It is very difficult to establish correlations, unlike other important environmental issues. This is the case if we talk about hurricanes that have a relationship with climate change, but what happens in the Earth’s crust so far is random, not correlated.
answers the researcher.
A system to detect earthquakes in advance
Lyne Morissette has just returned from a mission to Victoria, where a team of scientists from the University of Victoria developed technology that enables early detection of earthquakes underwater. The project was announced last January by the provincial government.
Ocean Networks Canada uses an arsenal of 105 instruments to detect tremors between 30 seconds and 4 minutes before they occur.
It may not seem like much, but it can make a big difference in the number of deaths, injuries and property losses.
says Lyne Morissette. This can, for example, cause trains to slow down and stop traffic on bridges, tunnels or interrupt landings in air traffic.
This system uses sensors located several hundred meters deep underwater, in the subduction zone, where tectonic plates collide and cause frequent earthquakes.
Why there? Because when we’re in British Columbia, we’re close to the Pacific Ring of Fire – it’s a very active seismic region. There are thousands of earthquakes, most of them are very small.
, specify. More than 3,000 earthquakes occur each year in British Columbia alone.
A tsunami warning sign in Tofino, Vancouver Island.
He adds that this technology allows you to better prepare for celebrities A big one
the devastating earthquake that has been expected on the western coast of the continent for several years.
Lyne Morissette suggests that the Sunday morning tremors do not allow predictions to be made about this expected large earthquake. These are not linear models. Just because we have a shock today doesn’t mean we will have another one next week.
underlines.
