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M41 news@theotherpress.ca

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And more!

Small earthquake felt between
Victoria, Vancouver, and Seattle

» Increased seismic activity on Pacific west coast concerns Canadians and Americans

    
 

Mercedes Deutscher

n December 29, a
magnitude-4.7 earthquake

was widely felt throughout
the Lower Mainland at 11:39
p.m. The earthquake, which
occurred about 20 kilometres
north of Victoria, was felt from
as far as Seattle and Abbotsford,
with an epicentre 50 kilometres
underneath the earth’s crust.

There were no injuries
or damage caused by the
earthquake, nor a tsunami.
Yet the activity brings
concern to many. There has
been speculation of a severe
earthquake with the potential
to reach a magnitude of 9.0 in
the region for years. A large
scale quake occurs in the
Cascadia coastal subduction
zone—a zone between the

: north of Vancouver Island and
: Northern California that pulls

: plates underneath each other—
: on average every 500 years, but
: as frequent at every 20 or as

: rarely as 800. The last major

: earthquake occurred in 1700.

“When the next very big

: earthquake hits, the northwest
: edge of the continent, from

: California to Canada and

: the continental shelf to the

: Cascades, will drop by as

: much as 6 feet and rebound

: 30 toa 100 feet to the west—

: losing, within minutes, all the
: elevation and compression it

: has gained over centuries,”

: wrote Kathryn Schulz in “The
: Really Big One,” a feature

: published in The New Yorker

: July 2015. Schulz also predicted
: that the large earthquake

: will result in a dual-tsunami,

: with one side heading toward

: Japan and a large one heading

: east towards the North
: American West Coast.

: the province’s Earthquake

: Emergency Response Plan

: modelled a worse-case scenario
: earthquake—a shallow

: earthquake that struck under

: Vancouver. They discovered

: that this could result in 10,000

: casualties, crack roads, destroy
: buildings, and compromise

: electric and gas infrastructure.

: to many families finally putting :
: together an earthquake kit. :
: Families are advised to have
: a disaster kit that contains

: enough food, water, and

: supplies to last 72 hours. Car
: owners are also advised to carry :
: a similar kit in their vehicles.

: woken up or not, but literally
: this can be considered a wake-
: up call for every one of us

According to CBC,

The recent earthquake led

Image via thinkstock

 

: small quakes were reported

: in California, registering 4.9

: and 4.3 respectively. One

: aftershock was detected after

: the second earthquake. A few

: days later, on January 1, another
: magnitude-4.5 earthquake was
: felt in Northern California.

: who live in this region that

: we are in an active seismic

: zone,” said Honn Kao, an

: earthquake seismologist

: with the Geological Survey of
: Canada, to the Globe and Mail.
: Five hours prior to the

: local earthquake, another two

“I don’t know if you got

 

Drink up

» BC’s alcohol consumption on the rise again

: it won't have helped that the

: liquor laws have been relaxing
: availability and improving
Research, having studied alcohol :
: and the like,” said Stockwell to
: CBC.

he University of Victoria’s
Centre for Addictions

consumption for more than

a decade, is waving the flag

on BC’s rising levels. In fact,
Canada’s average of 8 litres of
absolute alcohol, which is lower
than previous years, pales in
comparison to BC’s at 8.97 litres,
continuing a trend of alcohol
consumption in BC that has
been on the rise since 2012.

“This jump to nearly g litres
is equal to 528 bottles of 5 per
cent beer, 30 bottles of 40 per
cent vodka, or 100 bottles of 12
per cent wine consumed per
person aged 15 plus in British
Columbia, per year,” states the
organization’s website.

BC’s increased consumption
of almost three per cent in the
2014-15 fiscal year is an all-
time high for the past decade.
This sudden leap, predicted a
year ago by Dr. Tim Stockwell,
director of the University of
Victoria’s Centre for Addictions
Research (CARBC), has come as

no surprise.
“ ? .
We can’t be certain, but

affordability with happy hours

Within the past year, BC’s

: liquor laws have seen some

: serious changes. With happy

: hours popping up everywhere,

: a decrease in beer garden and

: festival barriers, an increase of
: alcoholic products sold at local
: grocery stores and farmers’

: markets, and an overall support
: for local liquor manufacturers,
: there has been a shift in British
: Columbian’s lifestyles.

The research team at

: UVic is using this information

: to predict that around 655

: additional hospitalizations

: and 31 deaths will occur within
: the upcoming year, atop of the
: 24,429 hospital admissions and
: 1,281 deaths caused by alcohol

: in 2013.

While the drinking rate has

: increased over many years, the
: amount of those drunk stays
: under the average consumption

: numbers recorded back in 2007,
: according to CBC.

especially around holidays,
; CARBC recommends people

  

Image via www.bantumen.com

: drinks a day or 15 per week

: for men, with an extra drink

: allowed on special occasions,”
: advises CARBC.

: who plan to drink familiarize

: themselves with Canada’s low-
: risk drinking guidelines: no

: more than 2 drinks a day or

: 10 per week for women, and 3

“Throughout the year, but