Real-life tsunami threat in Port Alberni prompts updates to evacuation procedures

Researchers say a tsunami alert in British Columbia that rang out in the dead of night 14 months ago serves as a preparation blueprint for coastal communities that face the ever-present threat of tidal waves.

Ryan Reynolds, a post doctoral risk modelling expert at the University of British Columbia, says the tsunami threat in Port Alberni saw more than 90 per cent of households in warning zones flee for higher ground, but there were glitches before the alert was lifted at 4:30 a.m.

He says in a report released Thursday that some people didn’t understand why community sirens were blaring and others were looking for confirmation of the alert on social media, but the community’s emergency response system did not immediately inform residents of the potential danger.

WATCH: (Aired Jan. 23, 2018) Coverage of the early morning tsunami warning on Globalnews.ca

1:50 No tsunami warning for some communities

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• Early morning tsunami warning sends coastal BC residents in search of higher ground
• Port Alberni residents awakened to tsunami warning sirens
• Haida Gwaii residents on effectiveness of tsunami warning system
• Seismologist explains how Canada’s tsunami warning system works
• BC Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth on tsunami warning
• Tofino resident on early morning tsunami warning
• Geophysicist on what triggers a tsunami warning
• Sigh of relief as tsunami alert is lifted in BC
• Tofino tourist describes how tsunami warning unfolded
• Alaska residents sent running as Tsunami warning sirens heard
• Tsunami threat along Pacific Coast cancelled

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A magnitude 7.9 earthquake off the coast of Alaska prompted the tsunami alert along much of Canada’s West Coast, including Port Alberni, which was hit by a tsunami in March 1964 following a 9.2 earthquake off Alaska.

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Reynolds says his research involved interviews with more than 400 local residents and numerous city officials, including an interview with a family that had just moved to the community and were roused by neighbours who urged them to flee.

He says the research found more than 60 per cent of residents have updated their tsunami evacuation plans since the alert, and community and regional officials have better co-ordinated social media services and response tactics.