We've been prepping for "the big one" for generations. Many have become complacent. We're more worried about earthquakes causing a "lahar" mud slide off Rainier and plowing through lowlands. Evacuation drills are down to about 4.5 minutes.
Earthquakes are a good reason not to live anywhere on the Pacific coast. Hurricanes are a good reason not to live in the southeast, or apparently, New Jersey. And I don't want to live in "tornado alley"...
Edit: That article is just more FUD, designed to be fed to people who enjoy being afraid. There's no new knowledge there.
We've been prepping for "the big one" for generations.
I absolutely know this to be false.
I grew up just north of you in Victoria. I was a teenager when they began piecing together evidence that earthquakes of that magnitude actually could hit the area. Before then there was no thought to preparation. And large parts of my home town are still on landfill, close to sea level. (Which is not what you want during an earthquake...)
Earthquakes are a good reason not to live anywhere on the Pacific coast.
The earthquake risk in California is well-understood and the area is prepared for it. That risk is quite acceptable to me. The Pacific Northwest is less prepared, and has the potential for an earthquake over 10x bigger than anything that California has to worry about.
That article is just more FUD, designed to be fed to people who enjoy being afraid. There's no new knowledge there.
It was one of the top links when I searched for "Cascadia superfault". I did not research it carefully. I would not expect it to contain novel information.
People are prepping for earthquakes here. The unsafe viaduct is coming down. Schools are getting seismic retrofits. Kids are doing earthquake drills. People who aren't tinfoil hat survivalists (me) are keeping 3 days of food and water handy.
I respect your difference in risk tolerance, but don't think we're oblivious to earthquakes here. That's just slanderous :)
Maybe BC isn't prepared, but here in WA we do earthquake drills just like we do fire drills, and in some areas they also do lahar evacuation drills too. We've conducted studies on our numerous bridges, and we're retrofitting some and demolishing or replacing others. I don't know what people in California are doing to prepare that we in WA are not doing.
That's probably one of the top links because it's so new, but most of its details are from more than 20 years ago. It doesn't even mention the expectation of the "big one" triggering a reaction from Mt Rainier, causing a "burp" and a lahar landslide.
Either it happens, I have enough warning and I live, it happens and I don't have enough warning so I die, or it doesn't happen. No sense worrying in any case.
My point is just that if it goes off, the problem won't be just Colorado's.
Concern over the possibility of that earthquake happening in my lifetime is one of the reasons why I do not want to return there, or want my children to put down roots there.
See http://discovermagazine.com/2012/extreme-earth/01-big-one-ea... if you don't know what I'm talking about.