Canada's largest recorded earthquake on land, measuring 7.3 in magnitude, occurred west of Courtenay on Sunday morning, June 23, 1946. Damage was light because few people lived in the area, children were not in school, most buildings were small and made of wood, and there were few dams or bridges. When the next major earthquake strikes Vancouver Island, damage and loss of life is expected to be much greater.

larger image [JPEG, 1.4 Mb, 1643 X 747, notice]

School in Courtenay damaged by 1946 earthquake larger image [JPEG, 38.0 kb, 457 X 318, notice]

Road disrupted by landslide triggered by 1946 earthquake larger image [JPEG, 56.8 kb, 539 X 359, notice]