VICTORIA – A British Columbia government report foresees more than 3,400 fatalities and more than 10,000 injuries if an earthquake with a magnitude of 9.0 strikes off Vancouver Island.
The scenario of such a “megathrust” quake also describes costs of $128 billion, the destruction of 18,000 buildings and extensive damage to 10,000.
The analysis is part of the B.C. disaster and climate risk assessment, dated October 2025, and says such a quake is “one of the more likely earthquake scenarios in B.C.”
