Earthquake Risk:
Why is Queen Charlotte at risk of a natural disaster?
Why is the Village of Queen Charlotte at risk?
What aspects of the physical geography of Queen Charlotte Village put it at risk of an earthquake or tsunami?
Various aspects of Queen Charlotte's physical geography increases its risk of danger at the hands of earthquake and/or tsunami. The first crucial factor is the village's proximity to the intersection between all three Juan de Fuca, North American and Pacific plates, and thus consequentially the Explorer Ridge, Cascadia subduction zone and the Queen Charlotte Fault (the plate boundary landforms) (see triple junction point below) (Chust, Bird).
Since the Village of Queen Charlotte is located only a short 200 kilometers away from this triple junction (Chust, Bird), when the much anticipated megathrust earthquake expected to shake the West Coast of Canada does occur, as Queen Charlotte is located so close to the fault that will produce this earthquake, it will most likely suffer greatly from the impact of the shaking (the closer you are to the epicenter of the earthquake, the stronger the seismic waves will be felt) as well as that of a tsunami (an effect of mega-thrust earthquakes). Queen Charlotte Village is a coastal region (located near the water), thus increasing the risk of this last natural phenomenon (Ready, par.4).
The fact that these earthquakes have been known to reoccur over time also increases the potential risk of Queen Charlotte being affected, with the last mega-thrust earthquake having been documented to occur just 313 years ago (CBC, par.4) and the residents of Queen Charlotte being the victims of earthquakes with a magnitude of 6.5 every one to two years (with the epicenter at varying distances from the village) (Brethour, par. 16). This could contribute to making the Village more vulnerable when future earthquakes occur.
A final factor that makes the potential threat of an earthquake an even more dangerous prospective is the fact that Queen Charlotte Village lies overtop of a sedimentary basin (see map on the right). A sedimentary basin is a geological feature that is created when two tectonic plates move and get filled up with sedimentary deposits (Pacific North Coast Integrated Management Area, p. 51). This fact greatly increases the dangerous impact that any earthquake (let alone a mega-thrust earthquake) will have on the residents of Queen Charlotte because the soft foundation of the sediments can amplify the shaking of the earthquake by 3 to 4 times (due to the soil's low resistance to waves), making it even more strongly felt in the Queen Charlotte community (Choi, par. 3).
These three aspects of Queen Charlotte's physical geography make the community more at risk and vulnerable when it comes to either earthquakes or tsunamis.
"Geologic Illustrations." National Park Service. U.S Department of the Interior, 24 July 2014. Web. 6 Feb. 2016.
"Offshore Basins with Oil and gas Potential along B.C's West Coast." Basins. University of Victoria, n.d. Web. 6 Feb. 2016. <http://www.biogeochemistry.uvic.ca/People/Scott/Basins.html>.
What aspects of the human geography of Queen Charlotte Village put it at greater risk of an earthquake or tsunami?
​Just like with the physical geography of Queen Charlotte Village, there are various aspects of the human geography of the Queen Charlotte community that put its residents at even greater risk when it comes to tsunamis or earthquakes.
A first factor that needs to be addressed is the state of the buildings in the village. A 2006 census conducted by the Canadian Government shows that out of the total 435 dwellings located in the Queen Charlotte community, 330 dwellings were noticed to have been constructed prior to 1986 and 20.7% of the residences were stated to be in need of major repair (Statistics Canada).These pieces of data are considered as incredibly dangerous when it comes to earthquakes, because if the aforementioned natural disaster were to strike the community of Queen Charlotte Village, buildings would be less resistant to seismic waves and would most likely crumble under the pressure of the energy being released by movement in tectonic plates and endanger residents of the Queen Charlotte community with falling debris.
A second aspect of the human geography of Queen Charlotte Village that increases risk for the inhabitants of the Village is the lack of medical help that could be available for citizens. The same census mentioned in the previous paragraph also showed that the ratio of health-care workers to residents is very low (30 workers in the health field out of 948 inhabitants). In case of an earthquake or tsunami, it would therefore be logical to assume that not all potential victims would have access to emergency services and treatment. This coupled with the fact that the only hospital in the general vicinity of the village is bith located just off of the coast and currently undergoing construction (Partnerships, British Columbia) can lead some to believe that the village could find itsself unprepared when it comes dealing with injured victims of an earthquake or tsunami.
A final factor that could increase risk in the situation of Queen Charlotte Village is the fact that, according the 2006 Canadian census, out of 730 young people aged 15 or older, 115 adolescents in Queen Charlotte Village possess no diploma or degree (Statistics Canada). Part of this statistic could certainly account for the number of young people still waiting to finish their high school career, however, it could just as easily account for the number of adolescents who have not obtained their degree even though they exceed the expected age. This could also add to the list of factors that increase the risk of an earthquake, as children who do not complete their high school education might not be aware of effective ways to reduce risks of earthquakes.
These factors all contribute to putting the community of Queen Charlotte Village at greater risk of an earthquake or tsunami.
Bird, Peter, and Thomas Christian Chust. "An updated digital model of plate boundaries, Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems." Google Earth. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Feb. 2016. http://element.ess.ucla.edu/publications/2003_PB2002/2003_PB2002.htm
Intersection between Juan de Fuca, North American and Pacific Plates. Notice distance from Queen Charlotte.