When Wednesday's quake hit the Pacific Northwest, the kids at an elementary school south of Vancouver were already under their desks – they were having an earthquake drill.

More British Columbians need to follow their lead, say experts in emergency preparation.

"That little bit of a shake was perfect in the sense of letting people know this is something that is possible here," said Andy Neeman, whose company assembles and sells emergency survival kits.

Post-earthquake cleanup
Post-earthquake cleanup

British Columbia is in the most active earthquake zone in Canada, feeling about one-third of Canada's tremors. This one had an epicentre near Olympia, Washington, about 50 kilometres south of Seattle.

The province was spared the property damage the 6.8-magnitude quake inflicted on Washington State, where damage could exceed $1 billion.

After surveying the damage by helicopter, Gov. Gary Locke declared a state of emergency. About 200 people were injured and one woman died of a heart attack.

But the ground in Canada shook enough to wake some people out of their complacency about the threat of earthquakes on the West Coast.

"Immediately after the earthquake ... people began to pour into the store, phoning in lots of questions about what kind of stock we had and could they come straight down," said Carrier Gresher, whose first aid and emergency supplies business had a banner day.

That's a good sign, said Lindsay Olson, vice-president of the Insurance Bureau of Canada for the Pacific region.

"Many, many businesses and families – and even elements of government – are not prepared for this kind of event," Olson said.

"They haven't taken whatever structural precautions they can in their homes. They don't have earthquake insurance, for example."

As for the kids under their desks, Bob Bugslag, deputy director of the Provincial Emergency Program, said other British Columbians should follow that example.

"We can learn a lot from our children and we need to educate other groups in the community about what to do in an earthquake," he said.

Bugslag said one thing they have to do is resist the urge to call everyone on the speed dial.

The circuits in Vancouver were jammed, which would cause problems for rescue workers in a real emergency.

"We should have another means of checking on people other than the phones," Bugslag said. "We need to keep those lines open for emergency service workers."

Quakes in Canada

Canada experiences about 2,500 earthquakes per year. However, most measure less than 5.0, which means people barely even notice them.

British Columbia is in the most active earthquake zone in Canada. About one third of Canada's earthquakes happen there.

Since 1899, B.C. has had more than 40 earthquakes registering 6.0 or higher.

The largest recorded earthquake to impact the West Coast of B.C. was in 1946, a 7.3 magnitude earthquake, off Vancouver Island (centred northwest of Courtenay).

The largest earthquake in Canada occurred in 1949 when an 8.1 magnitude earthquake hit off the Queen Charlotte Islands in northern B.C.

Seventy per cent of British Columbia's population live in the earthquake prone southwestern corner.

Source: City of Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services