Dr. John Clague: Earthquakes and Tsunamis – Sleuthing the ‘Big One’ on the West Coast | Tremblements de terre et tsunamis – prévoir le prochain tremblement de terre majeur sur la côte ouest

John Clague, Simon Fraser University

Thursday, March 16, 2000

Western British Columbia is one of Canada’s earthquake hotspots. On average, one detectable quake occurs there every day. Nine large earthquakes of Richter magnitude 6-7 have struck B.C. and adjacent Washington state since the late 1800s. Even more worrying is the growing body of scientific evidence for less frequent but much more devastating quakes and tsunamis along the B.C. coast. Today’s presentation focuses on the evidence for these great quakes and on the likely effects of the next ‘big one’ on the populace and economy of Canada.

Since 1998, John Clague has been Professor and Shrum Chair in the Department of Earth Science at Simon Fraser University. Before this, from 1973 to 1998, he was a Research Scientist with the Geological Survey of Canada. Dr. Clague’s main research interests are in the field of geologic hazards — earthquakes, tsunamis, landslides, and floods. He has written more than 200 scientific papers, won several awards, and received extensive media coverage for his work on earthquakes and tsunamis. Clague was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of
Canada in 1998.