Early earthquake alert system successful in Tofino could be launched in B.C. by 2024

Researchers are one step closer to being able to warn the public of an incoming earthquake after a small one struck B.C.'s West Coast last week, providing a 35-second warning that demonstratedthe effectiveness of sensors and an alert system they've been working on for several years.

On Friday,a 4.8 magnitude earthquake hit Tofino, B.C.While that quake didn't do any damage, researchers say their alert system could have saved lives if it had been bigger.

In 2017, Ocean Networks Canada, a University of Victoria initiative, started installing sensors both on Vancouver Islandand offshoreas part of a project led and funded by Emergency Management B.C. The federal government signed on in 2019, hoping to create a nationwide early earthquake alert system.

Now, dozens ofsensors are located throughout the island, creating a network of real-time information about seismic sensors.

On Friday, those sensors detected the primary wave an energy signal that doesn't cause ground shaking but tells those monitoring thatit's coming. That sensor data delivered an alert to researchers.

"If it had been a big earthquake, it would provideat least 35 seconds of advanced warning for ground shaking to arrive at both Victoria and Vancouver," Ocean Networks president and CEO Kate Moran said, adding that warnings could go anywhere but it would be especially helpful for densely populated areas.

Those 35 seconds could give firehalls a chance to open their doors so that they could get out of the building before it is damaged. It could also give elevator operators time to send elevators to the ground floor and time for trains to slow down and avoid a possible derailment.

"Infrastructure operators really could find [the system] useful for protecting infrastructure that ultimately protects lives," Moran said.

Right now, the system is focused on coastal earthquakes. While it did registerrecent earthquakes in Alberta and northern B.C., an alert would not go out to those regions.

According to Emergency Management B.C., Canada's first early earthquake sensor station was installed in March 2022 in Horseshoe Bay. It's the first in what will become a national early earthquake alert system, which is expected to be up and running by early 2024.

"We will be testing with these partners with a few of them over the next few months to make sure that the system is working well, and so far, what we've seen is very promising," saidNatural Resources Canada seismologist Alison Bird.

Once it launches, the public would automatically be alerted to an imminent earthquakethrough phones, TV and radio.