The Province and the Capital Regional District (CRD) are launching the Capital Region Tsunami Information Portal to empower residents and visitors to make informed emergency preparedness plans and keep people safe during a tsunami.

Residents and visitors of the Capital Region can visit the Tsunami Information Portal to see if they are residing, working in, or visiting a tsunami hazard zone. Knowing the tsunami zones helps prepare now to act later in the event of a tsunami following an earthquake.

The capital region is an at-risk area to tsunami hazards from several potential sources including the Cascadian Subduction Zone, the Alaska-Aleutian Subduction Zone and local shallow crustal faults. However, as demonstrated by the portal, the majority of the capital region’s coastline is elevated with a limited risk of tsunami, and a majority of the region is at minimal risk or no risk of a tele-tsunami (distant tsunami).

The main tsunami risk in the capital region is from a felt earthquake. In the event of a felt earthquake, people located in a hazard zone should move outside the hazard zone immediately once the shaking stops. People already outside a hazard zone should remain there and be prepared to assist family and friends who need shelter.

To prepare for a tsunami risk, people living and working in tsunami hazard zones are encouraged to practise their evacuation routes on foot or bike with family, friends or colleagues. Most people will not need to travel far to reach safety. Additionally, people are encouraged to prepare by making a home emergency plan and gathering supplies to build a home emergency kit and grab-and-go bags.

The tsunami information portal was created by GeoBC using a coastal flood inundation modelling and mapping report developed by Associated Engineering, DHI and Westmar Advisors with funding from the federal and provincial National Disaster Mitigation Program.

The project was developed with input from local governments and First Nations across the capital region, and provincial, federal, community and academic partners.

The Capital Region Tsunami Information Portal is a Regional Emergency Management Partnership (REMP) initiative. The REMP provided project management support for developing the information portal and partnered with GeoBC to create the tool enabling residents and visitors to understand the distribution of tsunami risk across the capital region.

Established in 2016 on behalf of the 13 municipalities and three electoral areas, the REMP is a 50/50 partnership between the Government of B.C. and the Capital Regional District. The REMP works on behalf of its member municipalities and electoral areas to enhance regional emergency management planning across the CRD.

Learn More:

Capital Region Tsunami Information Portal: http://maps.prepareyourself.ca

Prepare Yourself: A Guide to Emergency Preparedness in the Capital Region: https://www.crd.bc.ca/docs/default-source/prepareyourself/epworkbook-ed4.pdf?sfvrsn=a2526dca_16

The Capital Region Flood Inundation Mapping Project: https://www.crd.bc.ca/about/data/climate-change/coastal-flood-inundation-mapping-project