A Carleton team is looking to shake things up with new research to ensure Ottawa’s safety in the event of an earthquake.
“We do not expect very large earthquakes, but even the mid-size ones that are probable in this region pose significant hazard,” said Savi Sivathayalan, a Carleton civil engineering professor and a member of the Canadian Seismic Research Network (CSRN).
Along with eight other Canadian universities, Carleton is participating in the CSRN.
Headquartered at McGill University, the $5-million government-funded network aims to reduce the risks of seismic shifts in Canadian cities.
Two-thirds of Canada’s population could be affected by earthquakes, according to research done by David Lau, a professor in Carleton’s department of civil and environmental engineering and a member of the CSRN.
Given its proximity to seismic zones, Lau said Ottawa is in a vulnerable area.
Though many were unaffected by the minor earthquake that shook Ottawa in February 2006, the risks of a future one are inevitable.
Most of Canada’s critical urban infrastructure, such as hospitals and schools, was constructed almost 40 years ago, long before newer, modern seismic precautions were established, Lau said in an earlier media report.
Graduate students and researchers will be working together through the CSRN to ensure that this infrastructure is equipped for such a situation.
Sivathayalan said Ottawa is making strides to assure that if and when an earthquake strikes, the city is prepared.
“In terms of preparedness, I would say we are slowly starting to pay attention. There have been many recent initiatives that assess the seismic risk in the region to improve our safety,” Sivathayalan said.
“We have made improvements in recent years, but there is still progress to be made,” he said.
According to first-year student Curtis Vermette, the risk of a possible earthquake rocking in the capital isn’t surprising.
“In the past I was informed that Ottawa was [in] a valley and was therefore susceptible to earthquakes. So it does not surprise me to hear this,” Vermette said.
Carleton president Roseann Runte calls Carleton’s faculty of engineering outstanding.
“Work in the field of seismology is significant in determining ways to construct buildings which can withstand tremors and ways to predict their occurrence and intensity,” she said.