Why this coastal B.C. community wants to build a tsunami evacuation tower [Video]

It’s tsunami preparedness week, and in one British Columbia community, they’re taking it particularly seriously.

“Being prepared on the coast in Tofino is part of life, and the kids know, the families know, the visitors certainly are made aware,” said Tofino Mayor Dan Law.

Located on Vancouver Island’s west coast, the popular tourist destination sees its population of 2,500 nearly double during the busy summer months.

It’s also uniquely exposed to the threat of a tsunami compared to many other parts of B.C.’s coast, according to Katsu Goda, an associate professor of earth sciences at Western University.

“The land is very much surrounded by the ocean and there’s not much highlands, we are talking about 10 minutes, 20 mintues, something like that (to evacuate),” he said.

“And there’s lots of elderly people, kids, and it could happen at night. So given all those situations, especially in the coastal beach area it’s really …