Johanna Wagstaffe, meteorologist and science host for CBC Vancouver and CBC News Network, launches her first book, Fault Lines: Understanding the Power of Earthquakes, at this year’s Vancouver Writers’ Fest, Performance Works (1218 Cartwright St.) Thursday, Oct. 19, 1 p.m.
Johanna Wagstaffe knows a thing or two about earthquakes.
The Vancouver meteorologist majored in the subject in university and now reports about them as part of her job on the CBC network.
Wagstaffe has written a new book, Fault Lines, Understanding the Power of Earthquakes, that is an ideal introduction for children, especially those in Grades 4 to 7.
With a background in seismology, geophysics and earth science, Wagstaffe writes about her own experiences with earthquakes and includes stories from the perspectives of kids around the world.
As she does every year, Wagstaffe will host CBC’s coverage of Shake Out B.C. on Oct. 19, where millions of people worldwide will practise how to “Drop, Cover and Hold On,” and then head over to Performance Works on Granville Island to launch her new book.
She spoke to the North Shore News about her own experiences with earthquakes and the writing of Fault Lines.
North Shore News: You lived in Tokyo as a child.
Johanna Wagstaffe: They are some of my earliest memories. I was just three when we moved to Tokyo so I went to junior kindergarten and spent the next few years there. I went back a few years ago in 2011 – it was really strange to see things that were sort of familiar. That’s where I first experienced an earthquake when I was about four.
North Shore News: Do they make children aware of earthquakes and tsunamis at a young age there? Is it a different approach from what we have here?
Johanna Wagstaffe: It really is. It was really drilled into us as young children. We did drills all the time. I remember lining up and getting under our desks. It was a regular part of our school year. I remember going home and talking to my parents about it and coming up with a plan so that when the earthquake did happen I was still scared but I wasn’t totally surprised that it was happening.
Talking to schools and friends who are parents I think things are changing for the better, especially in British Columbia schools. Schools are now taking part in the Great B.C. Shakeout on Oct. 19. Every year at 11 a.m. the earthquake drill happens. Another part of it is talking to kids about putting an earthquake plan together. I was pleased to hear that the conversation is starting but I think Japan has always been ahead of the game when it comes to earthquake preparedness.
North Shore News: You studied both meteorology and seismology in university. What led you in that direction?
Johanna Wagstaffe: I was always interested in science and the processes of the earth so I went to university first to study seismology, that is, everything that happens in the earth. In my third into fourth year, my final summer, I got an internship at Environment Canada and I actually studied in their severe weather centre in Ontario.
I got to do some storm chasing and I realized I kind of wanted to expand my understanding of the earth to the atmosphere. It’s interesting how a lot of the processes are linked. After I finished my seismology undergrad at Western University I did a post-grad certificate in meteorology at York University in Toronto.
North Shore News: What specific areas of study did you pursue?
Johanna Wagstaffe: While I was still in school I thought about a career in academia but there was so many topics I was interested in. I did a thesis for my undergrad on the seismicity of Vancouver Island. There was a project researchers were doing to understand the layers of the earth called the Polaris Project. I used their data to try and see if we could learn more about smaller earthquakes that our government networks weren’t picking up. We were looking to see if we could discover any new fault lines. It’s kind of funny even though I was studying in Ontario all my research was done in B.C. and then the fact that I ended up out here is kind of neat.
North Shore News: Did you have any connections out on the West Coast when you were doing your research?
Johanna Wagstaffe: A couple of the seismologists at Earthquakes Canada were authors I’d used in my research. One of them was one of the reviewers of my thesis paper. A lot of big names especially of government seismologists were out here. I still talk to them on a regular basis, you know, anytime they have new research or there is a big event happening we’ll keep the line of communications going.
North Shore News: Did you start at CBC Toronto?
Johanna Wagstaffe: I did. I was still going to school and knew that I wanted a career in Communications. I really enjoyed doing the academia side of things but I thought maybe a career in science communication was the way to go. There just happened to be, while I was finishing my meteorology, an email sent out from CBC saying they were looking for summer students for their weather centre. I started working behind the scenes on the morning show and right away I knew it was my dream job. I really liked being in the newsroom and the communications side of things was exactly where I wanted to be. When the L.A. earthquake happened about a year in, I realized we didn’t have any in-house specialists and I could at least offer some immediate facts to the story. Unfortunately there have been a lot of big earthquakes since then. The CBC know they can come to me for the basic information about the earthquakes.
North Shore News: What other significant earthquakes have you covered after the L.A. one?
Johanna Wagstaffe: Probably the next big one was Haiti. That was the first one where it turned into a humanitarian crisis. It’s not just the ground shaking and the immediate aftermath, it’s how prepared a country is that will play a big role in how quickly they recover. In 2011, the big Japan earthquake happened, and (it was interesting) see the contrast between Haiti, which doesn’t have a strong infrastructure or preparedness, and a country that is prepared. Going back to visit a couple of years ago it was incredible to see the country learning about every time there is a quake to prepare their people better.
North Shore News: Even with their preparedness the Japanese quake was so massive it caused major damage.
Johanna Wagstaffe: Exactly, there are still lessons to be learned. Even though they spent a lot of time trying to find out where the tsunami levels were and how to get people to listen to tsunami warnings there were still a lot of people that didn’t follow the guidelines. The tsunami still went over some of the barriers. The nuclear disaster ended up being a big part of that. All of this I know the country is still learning from. They had a moderate-sized earthquake last year and there was a small tsunami and it was interesting a lot more people responded to that one having lived through a more recent one, but again there are still things the country is learning.
North Shore News: How did the book come about?
Johanna Wagstaffe: I’ve always enjoyed really talking to children about science. I’m really passionate abut science communication. Talking to classrooms and school groups coming in is really one of my favourite parts about the job. I find that kids are the most engaged out of any audience group. They have the most interesting questions and they are almost the least afraid when it comes to talking about big disasters.
Orca Publishers approached me about three years ago and asked if I wanted to write an earthquake book for kids. It was sort of the perfect union. I’m new to the process of writing a book and it was more intense than I realized. It’s a very different medium from TV and social media and the news side of things. I’ve really enjoyed the process.
North Shore News: The book is informative and entertaining. A good textbook to use as an introduction to the subject.
Johanna Wagstaffe: I hope so. Having chatted with kids from so many different age groups. Every time I give them an answer to a question they want to know the why to that question. They are so curious and they are the ones who will go home and talk to their parents about being prepared. Remembering what it was like in Japan to be informed rather than scared I hope having more of these conversations and more of these resources help when things like this happen.
