City Receives Provincial Funding for Tsunami Preparedness
April 11, 2005
The City of Richmond has been awarded $10,000 by the provincial government for tsunami preparedness, to enhance the City’s state of tsunami readiness.
The devastating tsunami that struck South East Asia in December 2004 demonstrated the impacts that tsunamis can have on coastal communities. To help foster more comprehensive emergency planning around a tsunami threat, the Province of BC has awarded the City with a $10,000 grant to identify risks, develop response plans and assess communication and notification systems. Some of the work will include coring and trenching around Richmond to identify any tsunami deposits that might be present. The coring samples will be analyzed to determine if they contain coarse sediment deposited by a tsunami. Past geological events are the best method available to predict potential future incidents, and this research will be beneficial in assessing the tsunami risk in Richmond. Related studies to date have shown no evidence of tsunamis ever impacting Richmond. This study will specifically target tsunamis and provide greater clarity on the threat.
“Although Richmond is an island community, we are not at significant risk of a tsunami,” says Mayor Malcolm Brodie. “However, we need to conduct more research to proactively plan if an emergency were to arise. Researching and assessing the tsunami threat for our jurisdiction is critical in emergency preparedness planning.”
