Ocean Networks Canada - Tofino

Resilience through preparedness: remembering the 1964 ‘Good Friday’ tsunami

duncanlowrie@uvic.ca — Wed, 08 Apr 2020 21:15:41 +0000

56 years ago, the ‘Good Friday’ earthquake rocked the Gulf of Alaska, causing a major tsunami to roll across the Pacific Ring of Fire on the evening of 27 March 1964. Few in Tofino were aware of the magnitude 9.2 earthquake or the alerts being sent by the US tsunami warning centre. Three and a half hours after the shaking, a series of tsunami waves swept over beaches and strong currents scoured the Pacific northwest coastline (Figure 1). Being early springtime and late at night in a sparsely populated Tofino, the area suffered no fatalities or injuries and only minor damage was reported. The event was a wake-up call for a risk that was not well understood nor well prepared for.

Figure 1. The 1964 earthquake off the coast of Alaska caused multiple tsunami waves to funnel up the narrow Port Alberni Inlet. There were no casualties, but the disaster damaged buildings, downed phone and power lines, and had a lasting impact on the community. Photo credit: Charles Tebby, Alberni Valley Museum.

Today Ocean Networks Canada (ONC) is helping to build resilience in Tofino—and elsewhere in British Columbia—by integrating the latest science and technology into tsunami planning efforts and improving awareness of the risk. Local leaders are partnering with scientists, engineers and tsunami experts to integrate local hazard models, community risk assessments, and tsunami mitigation best practices, to prepare for the next big one. Tofino’s Tsunami Mitigation Plan outlines actionable strategies for decreasing the risks associated with this threat. As a direct result, Tofino has improved understanding of the tsunami risk and what to do to better prepare (Figure 2).

Figure 2. Left: As part of Tofino’s Tsunami Mitigation Plan, the remote Pacific Rim municipality has developed a Tsunami Evacuation Route (left), with a map and information about emergency preparedness for residents and visitors. Right: Installed at Tofino airport in 2015, ONC’s WERA (WavE RAdar) high frequency oceanographic radar array is a shore-based remote sensing system that includes four transmitting and 12 receiving antennas that monitor ocean current speed in real-time.

The future is in real-time. In our highly connected world, tsunami information can be rapidly disseminated across a broad range of communication technologies. For example, technological advances include using high frequency radar to continuously monitor ocean surface levels. Coastal radar, including the WERA radar located at Tofino’s Long Beach Airport, delivers real-time ocean wave height data that can be used for tsunami response decisions and situational awareness (Figure 3).

Figure 3. In October 2016, ONC’s high frequency oceanography WERA radar system provided Tofino with real-time data when Typhoon Songda triggered a tsunami alert. “Real-time data from an instrument like the WERA radar supports critical and lifesaving decision making for coastal communities,” commented Keith Orchiston, Tofino’s Emergency Program Coordinator at that time.

On a broad scale, ONC uses real-time observations of earthquake shaking and tsunami wave heights to support official tsunami alerts and better monitor the tsunami threat. ONC’s Applied Science team uses detailed digital elevation maps and runs tsunami models on high powered computers which inform plans for future tsunamis. Public education on the science of tsunami and public safety best practices support an awareness of the risk and helps people take action to decrease their level of risk. Together, we are moving resilience forward.

Taking appropriate action is key, which is why ONC supports earthquake and tsunami preparedness education and training such as the High Ground Hike tsunami preparedness initiative, Masters of Disasters education program and Great BC ShakeOut earthquake drill.

In a disaster, we’re all in it together. What we do today will influence the outcomes of our next major tsunami event. At ONC, we are doing our part to help coastal communities prepare and become more resilient.

Real-time radar data spurs international gathering

kshoemak@uvic.ca — Wed, 26 Jul 2017 18:24:15 +0000

In June 2017 Ocean Networks Canada (ONC) hosted a WERA high frequency oceanographic radar workshop to discuss “first ever” real-time data that detected tsunami waves when Typhoon Songda hit the west coast of Canada in October 2016, triggering a tsunami alert on the WERA system.

The storm caused Tofino’s Emergency Program Coordinator Keith Orchiston to close beaches in the famous surfing location. “It is always a hard decision to close beaches, but that day we decided to play it safe. Real-time data from an instrument like the WERA radar (Figure 1) would support critical and lifesaving decision making for coastal communities.”

Figure 1. Tsunami algorithm detection plots from ONC's WERA high frequency oceanographic radar software showing the probability of a tsunami during the 14 October 2016 storm.

Installed at Tofino airport in 2015, the WERA (WavE RAdar) high frequency oceanographic radar array (Figure 2) is a shore-based remote sensing system that includes four transmitting and 12 receiving antennas that monitor ocean current speed in real-time.

The system is capable of detecting large events, storm surges and tsunamis up to 80 kilometres from shore, which could provide up to 20 minutes of advanced warning of an incoming tsunami.

Figure 2. ONC’s high frequency oceanographic WERA array at Tofino airport.

Bringing together participants from across the globe, the workshop focused on the capabilities of this technology and the different data that can be analyzed for public and marine safety. Participating institutions included the University of Hamburg in Germany, NOAA’s National Weather Service, Memorial University, Maine Sciences Institute of Rimouski, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Institute of Ocean Sciences, University of British Columbia and the University of Victoria. Presentations of the data and algorithms, on the system capabilities and potential uses, and ONC’s growing infrastructure and facilities resulted informative and productive discussions.

A new real-time tsunami detection algorithm was also evaluated by tsunamis experts at the University of Rhode Island, USA and University of Toulouse, France. Combining tsunami physics with radar measurements this algorithm provides a solution adapted for this critical west coast site. The use of two algorithms simultaneously provide redundancy and improves the robustness of the detection.

As a result of this workshop, a working group was formed to study WERA high frequency data from these types of events. The working group will meet at the International Summer School on Radio-oceanography in France, August 2017 and again at the International Radiowave Oceanography Workshop in Germany, September 2017. Additional planned collaboration will also take place with researchers from Japan, Philippines, Chile, and the Netherlands, who have previously detected tsunami signals using WERA radar.

“Real-time detection of hazards with instruments such as the WERA can provide alerts to coastal community when minutes count. Alerts based on these systems can provide valuable advice for safe navigation in the area and save lives in event such as Meteotsunamis”, says Tania Insua, ONC’s ocean analytics program manager.

Figure 4. WERA high frequency radar in Tofino, British Columbia. This innovative remote sensing device is developed in collaboration between ONC, Helzel Messtechnik (Germany) and Canadian companies Northern Radar Inc. (St. John’s) and ASL Environmental Sciences (Victoria, BC)..

ONC’s Tofino WERA array (Figure 4) is just one of several other kinds of oceanographic radars⎯such as coastal oceanic dynamics applications radar (CODAR) and WaMoS (Wave Monitoring System)⎯installed in the Strait of Georgia and along the British Columbia coast (Figure 5). These land–based detection systems form part of ONC’s Smart Ocean™ Systems, a program that provides technology solutions for marine and public safety as well as environmental monitoring in real-time. The program is designed to provide alerts and preparedness tools to government agencies and municipalities for public and marine safety.

Figure 5. Map showing ONC’s Southern British Columbia infrastructure including oceanographic radar locations.

Presentations from the June workshop are listed below.