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Assessment of Earthquake Hazard and Risk for Tofino, British Columbia

Tofino is a hub of shared services for more than 4500 residents of West Coast communities living within the Clayoquot Sound Biosphere Region, on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Annual visitors estimated at 5000-8000 daily during peak summer months contribute to a strong tourism economy in the area. A probabilistic earthquake hazard and risk assessment is conducted for Tofino and neighboring communities. It aims to provide guidance on disaster risk reduction planning at a local scale. The 6th generation seismic hazard model of Canada is adopted as a regional base model. It is verified/refined to accurately represent the seismicity potential and resulting ground motions in the study area. An exposure database of buildings and population is developed for the risk assessment. Appropriate fragility and vulnerability models are combined with seismic hazard estimates to determine the associated potential damage and loss.

The findings of the study will inform mitigation efforts with the improvement of seismic resiliency in Tofino and neighboring communities, including the design and assessment of tsunami vertical evacuation structures, development of evacuation routes, planning of infrastructure siting and emergency response planning. Additionally, the results will provide guidance on seismic monitoring for early warning and emergency response, in order to maximize the disaster risk reduction efforts.

Session: Earthquakes in the Urban Environment I

Type: Oral

Room: Grand A

Date: 4/22/2022

Presentation Time: 08:00 AM Pacific

Presenting Author: Mark Novakovic

Student Presenter: No

Additional Authors