Vancouver after the big one: 7.3-magnitude earthquake would kill nearly 10,000 and injure 128,000, experts say

The scenario — a shallow earthquake of magnitude 7.3 directly beneath the city — was chosen to provide the basis for drafting an emergency earthquake plan.

The scenario sees about 30 per cent of Metro Vancouver buildings damaged by the temblor — 18 per cent suffering extensive damage and 12 per cent being catastrophically damaged.

The death toll is estimated at nearly 10,000, with more than 128,000 injuries.

Nearly 100,000 people would have to flee their homes and require short-term shelter, many of them downtown.

The scale of the human disaster is among the first such estimates for Metro Vancouver, as governments grapple with how to prepare for the severe earthquake scientists predict is coming for British Columbia.

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