Preparing for the Next Cascadia Subduction Zone Tsunami by Barbara Lence, Ph.D.
The great Andaman-Sumatra earthquake and tsunami of December 2004 and the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami of March 2011 have reminded everyone of the significant dangers that tsunami can pose to coastal communities. Taken together, the death toll from these two events far exceeds the sum of all global tsunami mortality in the previous 110 years. Canada faces similar tsunami exposure due to the Cascadia Subduction Zone (CSZ), which extends more than 1,000 km. from the Mendocino Fault off Northern California to Northern Vancouver Island. The last great CSZ earthquake occurred on January 26, 1700. The ongoing subduction of the Juan de Fuca Plate under the western margin of the North American Plate can be measured today using triangulation, laser ranging and the Global Positioning System. Dr. Barbara Lence, Professor, and Mr. William Johnstone, Ph.D. Candidate, UBC Department of Civil Engineering, along with Mr. David Alexander, Spatial Vision Group Inc., North Vancouver, Drs. Randal LeVeque and David George, University of Washington Department of Applied Mathematics and Dr. Nick Hedley, SFU Department of Geography have
worked with Provincial and Federal emergency management agencies to help communities such as Tofino and Ucluelet, located on Vancouver Island’s outer coastline, to develop a better understanding of the possible tsunami arrival times and intensities, to estimate the possible impacts on people and infrastructure, and to devise better response plans by estimating and comparing the reliability of protective actions such as vehicular and pedestrian egress to nearby safe havens. This Example of shoreline area that could suffer from a Great CSZ work has helped to Earthquake and Tsunami (Ucluelet, BC). inform the selection of haven locations, the placement of tsunami signage and the development of information brochures.
graduation@civil
2012 Civil Engineering Graduation Reception On May 29, 2012, the Department of Civil Engineering hosted its graduation reception for the graduating class of 2012 and their friends and families. The students were celebrated for their achievements and recognized for their years of study and hard work. The numbers of graduates this year were 128 Bachelor of Applied Science, 9 Master of Applied Science, 55 Master of Engineering, and 3 Doctor of Philosophy. Several exceptional undergraduates were recognized with the following awards:
Leadership Award Megan Pate and Holynde Smiechowski were honoured with Department Leadership Awards. Both graduated with Distinction. Megan provided leadership to civil engineering students through her role as Civil Club President and as coordinator for the Great Concrete Toboggan Competition. Holynde was lead organizer of the graduating class trip to Las Vegas in January and was also active with Engineers Without Borders.
Academic Achievement Award YuJing Fan, Stanley Chan and Aiden Wong had the top averages in the graduating class. YuJing was also honoured at the Graduation Ceremony as the recipient of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of BC Gold Medal. Stanley managed to maintain his high average while also participating in the Engineering Co-op program, acting as team leader in the EERI Seismic Design Competition and participating in volunteer activities with Canadian Society of Civil Engineering, Structural Engineers Association of BC, the UBC Learning Exchange and in his local community. Aiden was also in the Engineering Co-op program and was involved in UBC AMS Club activities.
Civil Engineering Undergraduate Design Award The team of Wen Chien Jack Hsieh, JaeWon Kim, Yeo Shin Lau, Michael Jun Ming Leong, Zi Feng Li and Travis Pehlke earned the top grade in CIVL 446 – Engineering Design and Analysis II. The team designed a Multi-Purpose Building based on a conceptual design developed in CIVL 445 Engineering Design and Analysis I. This team succeeded as a result of a professional approach involving dedicated teamwork, creativity, due diligence and careful attention to detail.
9