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Tsunami alert follows 8.2 quake off Chile

Overview

On April 1 at 4:46:45 PM Pacific Daylight Time (23:46:45 UTC), a magnitude 8.2 earthquake occurred off Chile's Pacific coastline, according to the US Geological Survey. Ocean Networks Canada instrumentation captured both ground shaking and a very small tsunami as they crossed the northeast Pacific.

ONC data supports latest research in tsunami modeling

Overview

Ali Abdolali is a young tsunami scientist and doctor in [coastal engineering](http://www.coastal.udel.edu/) at the University of Delaware, with a passion for pursuing mysteries of the unexplored deep sea. His findings were recently highlighted in the [Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, March 2015](http://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/agu/jgr/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)2169-9291/). Abdolali’s research group uses Ocean Networks Canada (ONC) data collected and archived during the 2012 Haida Gwaii tsunami off Canada’s west coast to examine how precursor or “pressure” waves may inform tsunami early warning systems. “ONC infrastructure at NEPTUNE observing stations provided a unique dataset,” says Dr. Abdolali. “It is really easy to access the raw data, visualize the data online and download them”. The objective of tsunami modeling is to apply real data to develop reliable forecasts of tsunamis that propagate through the ocean and strike coastal communities. These models allow scientists to solve complex mathematical equations—requiring high performance computers—that can be applied to specific locations. According to Dr. Abdolali, there are few deep sea observatories like ONC that are equipped with bottom pressure recorders and hydrophones, but are also capable of providing the required sampling frequency he needed for his research.

A Canadian First: NOAA brings tsunami Digital Elevation Model training to Victoria, BC

Overview

When Kelly Carignan, University of Colorado scientist, visited Victoria, British Columbia for the first time in April 2016, she was surprised that no tsunami evacuation routes were posted in this coastal city. “In northern California you see a lot of tsunami hazard zone signs,” says Kelly. Fortunately for Victoria, Kelly was in town to lead a ground-breaking workshop that will contribute to improved emergency preparedness efforts in Canada’s coastal communities.

Tsunami Models Used for Preparedness Exercise in Port Alberni

Overview

Ocean Networks Canada’s preliminary tsunami models for Barkley Sound and the City of Port Alberni were integrated into Emergency Management BC’s first ever full-scale earthquake and tsunami response exercise: **Exercise Coastal Response in Port Alberni June 7 - 10.** Ocean Networks Canada in collaboration with University of Rhode Island has been developing new tsunami wave models for the area of Barkley Sound and the City of Port Alberni. New fault rupture models have been developed by Natural Resources Canada and University of Victoria personnel. Digital elevation models that reflect the morphology of these two areas have been developed in collaboration with NOAA-NCEI, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, GeoBC and the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District. Together, the Digital elevation models and the rupture models allowed Ocean Networks Canada to generate tsunami models with the support from Emergency Management BC . Support from Compute Canada, Westgrid and researchers from University of Paris-Est and University of Alaska-Fairbanks has also been instrumental in this effort. These preliminary models provide time of arrival, wave height and inundation maps that are crucial tools for tsunami preparedness. These models, together with ONC’s observatories sensors and the new warning system under development will detect and forecast tsunamis for coastal and First Nations communities in British Columbia. # Model Animations

Be Tsunami Prepared

Overview

Deadly tsunamis may be rare, but if you live in a coastal community it’s important to be informed and prepared. On 27 March 1964, a magnitude 9.2 earthquake off the coast of Alaska generated a series of seismic waves down the west coast of North America, causing multiple tsunami waves to funnel up the narrow Port Alberni Inlet. Thankfully, there were no casualties, but the disaster damaged buildings, downed phone and power lines, and had a lasting impact on the community. Over the last few years, Ocean Networks Canada (ONC) has been working with provincial, national and international partners to develop innovative tsunami modelling, measuring, monitoring and reporting methods that supports the creation of more accurate tsunami detection and inundation maps. Partners include Emergency Management British Columbia, [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration – NOAA](https://www.oceannetworks.ca/news-and-stories/stories/a-canadian-first-noaa-brings-tsunami-digital-elevation-model-training-to-victoria-bc/), Canadian Hydrographic Service, GeoBC, Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District, Natural Resources Canada, University of Victoria, IBM, Compute Canada and Westgrid.

Resilience through preparedness: remembering the 1964 ‘Good Friday’ tsunami

Overview

56 years ago, the ‘Good Friday’ earthquake rocked the Gulf of Alaska, causing a major tsunami to roll across the Pacific Ring of Fire on the evening of 27 March 1964. Few in Tofino were aware of the magnitude 9.2 earthquake or the alerts being sent by the US tsunami warning centre. Three and a half hours after the shaking, a series of tsunami waves swept over beaches and strong currents scoured the Pacific northwest coastline (Figure 1). Being early springtime and late at night in a sparsely populated Tofino, the area suffered no fatalities or injuries and only minor damage was reported. The event was a wake-up call for a risk that was not well understood nor well prepared for.

Tsunami Monitoring and Public Safety for At-Risk Coastal Communities

Overview

For an uncomfortable couple of hours on Monday, 19 October—following a magnitude 7.5 earthquake off the coast of Alaska—British Columbia coastal communities held their breath awaiting confirmation of a possible tsunami. Fortunately, the strike-slip earthquake caused little damage and the resulting wave was minimal, but the episode served as a poignant reminder of the need to prepare for tsunamis.

Real-time tsunami data from the Tonga volcano

Overview

Distance was no barrier to Ocean Networks Canada’s (ONC) capacity to provide real-time critical data about the tsunami risk following an underwater volcano eruption in Tonga on Saturday, 15 January 2022. Nine thousand kilometres from the volcano, the ONC offshore sensors gathered a variety of data, informing the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Pacific Tsunami Warning Center alerts that go out to countries and territories in the Pacific and Caribbean regions.

New documentary explores history of West Coast tsunamis from Indigenous perspective

Overview

MEDIA ADVISORY > “We know in our family history that we are the survivors of the last big earthquakes, the big tsunamis.” - Hesquiaht carver and painter, Tim Paul. Learn about the rich history of tsunami resilience on the Pacific West Coast, and how combining traditional Indigenous Knowledge with ocean science can better prepare communities for the next “big one”, as shown in the new documentary *Tsunami 11th Relative*, which premieres during its Vancouver Island spring tour that starts this week. The Ocean Networks Canada (ONC) supported documentary shares Indigenous Knowledge of past ‘great saltwater floods’ that reached northwest Vancouver Island, told through a tapestry of stories set against the backdrop of the rich, natural beauty of the island. One of these stories includes a magnitude nine earthquake that occurred in the Cascadia subduction zone on January 26, 1700, producing a tsunami so large it reached the top of mountains. This knowledge has impacted modern practices such as communities’ installing back-up solar power generation on higher ground. [Pieter Romer](https://www.oceannetworks.ca/people/pieter-romer/), the documentary producer/director and ONC Indigenous Community Liaison, says Indigenous Peoples’ survival and adaptations in the face of past devastating earthquakes and tsunamis are woven into the stories handed down through generations. “I learned from Nuu-chah-nulth artist, Tim Paul, who was taught by his grandmother, that sky, sun, moon, mountains, rivers, lakes, land, sea, wind and stars are all our relatives. Earthquake/Tsunami is our 11th relative which is intended to teach humility - remind us of our place in this world and that we are the very smallest part of this universe.”

Minutes-to-hours: arrival times for tsunami on BC coast

Overview

Ocean Networks Canada (ONC) is developing a coastal hazard assessment framework that utilises a [two-eyed seeing approach](https://www.oceannetworks.ca/news-and-stories/stories/two-eyed-seeing-embracing-the-power-of-indigenous-knowledge-for-a-healthy-and-sustainable-ocean/), interweaving Indigenous knowledge with its tsunami and flood hazard modelling services. Results from these assessments–which include the estimated arrival times and flooding extent of earthquake-induced tsunamis on the British Columbia (BC) coast–are being used to support emergency planning for coastal communities. BC communities are particularly vulnerable to tsunamis because of their proximity to the seismically active Alaska-Aleutian and the Cascadia subduction zones, which are capable of producing megathrust earthquakes. In two articles (accessible [here](https://tos.org/oceanography/article/assessment-of-tsunami-hazard-along-british-columbia-coastlines-from-coseismic-sources), and [here](https://tos.org/oceanography/article/integrating-topographic-and-bathymetric-data-for-high-resolution-digital-elevation-modeling-to-support-tsunami-hazard-mapping)) published in *Oceanography Magazine* this year, ONC researchers discussed results from a series of collaborative tsunami hazard assessments undertaken along the west coast of Canada.