For the Pacific Northwest, the greatest threat to public safety is known as "the big one", a megathrust earthquake which occurs about every 500 years. Though historically we had no idea when earthquakes might strike, recent studies of the fault reveal the quake to operate like bad clockwork, so it's somewhat predictable. The "sticky" subduction produces a sort of ratcheting effect called Episodic Tremor and Slip. The episodes last about two weeks, but most importantly they're consistently spaced 14 months apart. Thus we can confidently predict windows of risk. Additionally, ETS amplitude is modulated by tides, which, being predictable as the lunar cycle, means we can foresee far into the future which episodes will coincide with tidal forces (including ocean load) for more or less risk of fault failure (the big one).
Practically, one may circle some days on a 2014 calendar for ETS, draw a possibly overlapping circle for spring tide, and decide if that's really such a good time to host a big international event.
Present awareness of ETS and its implications is practically zero both in the general public and agencies responsible for disaster preparation and response. I think this fosters complacency and poor planning because "an earthquake can strike at any time" and we're looking at an earthquake that's unlikely to strike in our own lifetimes.
Wouldn't it make better sense to hand out free survival kits, conduct drills, etc. the week before disaster is more likely? I understand that making such a local change is really my responsibility, so no good whining across the internet about it. I can't expect cooperation from the folks in Ottawa on this one either. Better I should persuade provincial officials to adopt an inconvenient schedule tailored to the inconvenience of our approaching earthquake.Emergency Preparedness Week
May 4 to 10, 2014
Emergency Preparedness Week (EP Week) is an annual event that takes place each year during the first full week of May. This national event is coordinated by Public Safety Canada, in close collaboration with the provinces and territories and partners.