Vancouver will shake longer and stronger in an earthquake: study
Posted January 21, 2014 8:41 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – We are due for a large earthquake along the West Coast and when it hits, new studies suggest the shaking could be much stronger and longer than previously feared.
The Georgia Basin, stretching between Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland actually amplifies seismic waves up to three or four times as they travel through softer layers of silt and sedimentary deposits, which also lie partly beneath Metro Vancouver.
UBC researcher Sheri Molnar says it’s like having a Jell-O mold sit in a block of cheese.
“We’re bringing the earthquake up through the cheese and suddenly it’s hitting the Jell-O mold and starting to slosh around and bounce around within that.”
Molnar says seismologists have always known that basins can increase ground shaking, but this is the first time the effect has been studied in Canada.
The southwestern portion of Metro Vancouver — Richmond, Ladner and Delta — are most at risk.
The researchers say the findings may lead to upgraded building codes.
