At 10 a.m. Jan. 26 tens of thousands of British Columbians will "drop, cover and hold on" in the largest earthquake drill in Canadian history - The Great British Columbian Shake Out - and Squamish residents are invited to take part.
Squamish Emergency Program manager Jim Lang is determined to involve as many businesses, organizations, schools, governments and individuals as possible in this exercise to make sure Squamish is prepared if the big one happens.
Although for Lang, it's more a question of "when" than "if."
"When this quake goes it's going to be a great quake - over nine on the Richter scale," said Lang.
"There is enough history around here that we're not guessing at this - we're not trying to soothsay this is going to happen and the end is near - there's lots of proof out there."
According to Lang and seismologists, Vancouver Island's west coast is raising by millimetres every year and the inside edge is dropping down.
"The Juan de Fuca plate is going under and stalling where it joins," said Lang. "When it finally does slip, the plates will bypass each other by about 30 feet and it's going to be thousands of kilometres long and that whole magnitude thrust is going to create the damage for us."
According to Shake Out BC's Facebook account, more than 50,000 people across the province have registered to participate and the Squamish-Lillooet district already has 808 participants registered.
The District of Squamish, the Village of Pemberton, Mamquam Elementary School and the Squamish Ministry of Children and Family Development have already signed up on the event's website www.shakeoutBC.ca
His next step is to approach as local businesses and organizations, spread the word about the importance of emergency preparedness and get as many as possible signed on.
"Over the next little while, I'll be going to individual little pockets such as the downtown business improvement association, the Chamber of Commerce and the schools," said Lang. "It's a lot easier for all of us to get involved if we're keyed up and informed about why this is important."
Lang has already arranged to speak at the next Business Improvement Association board meeting and a future Chamber of Commerce luncheon.
The date for the earthquake drill - Jan. 26 - wasn't chosen arbitrarily. The last "great quake" that sent a tsunami pounding onto the shores of the Vancouver Island and the mainland took place Jan. 26, 1701. And according to soil samples taken from Vancouver Island and compared to samples in California, it's time for another.
"The history of this quake is that it goes every three to five hundred years and pretty much quakes are like rings on a tree - we know when they go," he said.
"The Juan de Fuca plate [which runs from California to halfway up Vancouver Island] hits every 300 to 500 years so if it went in 1701 - we're about 10 years into that 300 year cycle."
Lang said experts were able to determine the number of years between earthquakes because the soil samples illustrate the sequence. Years of organic composting layers are interrupted periodically by a layer of fine silt left by the tsunamis caused by earthquakes.
"So is it going to happen today or is it not going to happen for another 125 years?" said Lang.
"That we don't know for sure but it could happen anytime now."
Lang said he's not trying to scare anyone, but being ready for disaster is the best way to get a town up and running again quickly afterwards.
"A 9.3 or 9.5 is going to hurt us, but one thing we can be somewhat certain of is that Squamish won't suffer a great tsunami - here it's more about the effects of the earthquake."
"We need people to start thinking about emergency preparedness kits, safe holding places and making sure everyone in a business or family is accounted for."
Lang hopes the local radio station will play the sound effects available online at 10 a.m. on ShakeOutBC day, inspiring people to "drop, cover and hold on."
"The most important thing for us to realize is that this does happen, it can happen and it will happen," said Lang.
