To what extent is the community of Queen Charlotte at risk in terms of hazard? 

According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, there are three main factors that determine seismic risks: the level of seismic hazard, the number of people and amount of property that are exposed to seismic hazards and how vulnerable these people and property are to the hazards (Federal Emergency Management Agency, par. 1). Seismic hazards vary pricipally according to the location of the region in relation to plate teconic boundaries and frequency of occurrence of earthquakes. Based on the information listed above detailing the recurrence of magnitude 6.5 earthquakes every one to two years in Queen Charlotte (Brethour, par. 160) and the small distance between the village and a triple juction between three tectonic plates (among them a convergent boundary prone to producing mega-thrust earthquakes) (CBC.News), it would be logical to declare Queen Charlotte Village a high-risk earthquake zone.

 

To what extent is the community at risk in terms of exposure?

Despite this first assessment of Queen Charlotte's vulnerability, there are two more factors that determine whether Queen Charlotte village is at high, moderate or low risk: the second being the exposure of potential victims to a natural disaster (whether it be tsunami or earthquake, in this case). The seismic risk of a region increases as earthquake-prone regions become more densely populated and urbanized (Federal Emergency Managment Agency, par. 8). This means that as the population or urban density (number of buildings in a given space) of an earthquake-prone region increases, the seismic risk also increases, thus putting the community in question in greater danger of a natural disaster. This can be exlained by the fact that with a greater population and urban density, one can expect a greater number of casualties and a greater negative impact on infrastructure. When this is applied to the community of Queen Charlotte Village, it indicates that the residents of the village can be considered at low risk due to their low population density of 25.4 residents per square kilometer and the total number of dwellings in their village being a relatively low 497 (Statistics Canada).

 

To what extent is the community at risk in terms of vulnerability?

 The final factor that needs to be taken into consideration when assessing the risk of a community in relation to earthquakes is vulnerability. "The vulnerability of property to seismic hazards is determined by the prevalence of earthquake-resistant construction." (Federal Emergency Managment Agency, par. 9) This means that the potential risk of a community to an earthquake is decreased by earthquake resistant infrastructure. Unfortunately for Queen Charlotte Village, this places the community at higher risk, because of the 435 total number of dwellings occupied by usual residents of the community, 20.7% require major repair and the ratio of dwellings constructed before 1986 to dwellings constructed between 1986 and 2006 in the village is 330/105 (Statistics Canada). These aspects are only worsened by the fact that Queen Charlotte is located under a sedimentary basin that ampkifies shaking by 3 to 4 times, making buildings even less resistant when in comes to earthquakes (Pacific North Coast Integrated Management Area, p. 51)(Choi, par. 3) . However, levels of earthquake preparedness and disaster resilience also determine how vulnerable people are to seismic hazards (Federal Emergency Managment Agency, par. 10)  In this field, the community of Queen Charlotte can be placed at low risk because both the village of Queen Charlotte and the Queen Charlotte Secondary School have emergency plans set in place in case of earthquake or tsunami occurence (Village of Queen Charlotte) (School District 50 Haida Gwaii). To sum up, the village of Queen Charlotte can be placed at moderate risk in terms of vulnerability because of little earthquake resistant construction, but a high level of preparedness in case of earthquake or tsunami.