| Title | How scientists' communications helped mitigate the psychosocial effects of the October 2012 magnitude 7.8 earthquake near Haida Gwaii, Canada |
| |
| Author | Bird, A L; Lamontagne, M |
| Source | Seismological Research Letters vol. 86, no. 5, 2015 p. 1301-1309, https://doi.org/10.1785/0220140231 |
| Image |  |
| Year | 2015 |
| Alt Series | Earth Sciences Sector, Contribution Series 20150302 |
| Publisher | Seismological Society of America (SSA) |
| Document | serial |
| Lang. | English |
| Media | paper; on-line; digital |
| File format | pdf |
| Province | British Columbia; Western offshore region |
| NTS | 103B; 103C; 103F; 103G |
| Area | Haida Gwaii; Graham Island; Moresby Island |
| Lat/Long WENS | -134.0000 -130.0000 54.0000 51.0000 |
| Subjects | Persons; Nature and Environment; tectonics; Health and Safety; earthquakes; health hazards; seismicity; tsunami |
| Illustrations | location maps; seismograms; graphs |
| Program | Canadian Hazard Information Service |
| Released | 2015 07 15 |
| Abstract | The sparsely populated region of Haida Gwaii, British Columbia, Canada (formerly known as the Queen Charlotte Islands) was struck on 27 October 2012 by a magnitude (Mw) 7.8 earthquake -- the second
largest earthquake in Canada's written history. It was felt throughout British Columbia and into neighboring provinces, territories, and states, as far as 1600 km from the event’s rupture zone. Throughout Haida Gwaii, the shaking reportedly lasted
1.5 - 2 min, with about 30 s of especially strong shaking. Despite there being only light building damage and few, minor injuries, many of the inhabitants of Haida Gwaii found the earthquake and its numerous aftershocks to be a truly upsetting
experience. Through public meetings and face-to-face interviews, the first author and other scientific presenters endeavored to mitigate the earthquakes' psychosocial impacts. Myths and misconceptions regarding earthquakes and tsunamis had to be
addressed diligently. Lessons learned might be applied to future significant geohazard events, and we provide a summary of those lessons here. |
| Summary | (Plain Language Summary, not published)
The magnitude 7.8 earthquake of October 2012 occurred in the sparsely populated region of Haida Gwaii, British Columbia (formerly the Queen Charlotte
Islands). This was the second largest recorded earthquake in Canadian history and was felt throughout British Columbia and as far away as the Yukon, Alberta and Montana. The perceivable shaking lasted roughly 1.5 minutes, with very strong shaking for
about 30 seconds. Although building damage was light and there were few, minor injuries, many of the Haida Gwaii inhabitants found the earthquake and its aftershocks a traumatic experience. Through public meetings and face-to-face interviews, we
endeavoured to mitigate the earthquakes' emotional impact. Myths and misconceptions on earthquakes and tsunami were addressed immediately |
| GEOSCAN ID | 297312 |
|
|