Living on the Pacific Ocean comes with some problems. We sit on the Ring of Fire, which means earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are a pretty real and constant threat. Here in the Pacific Northwest, we've been super lucky thus far - the last volcano that's blown it's top was St. Helens in 1980. The largest earthquake I've felt since I've lived here was the Seattle 6.8 in 2001 (I remember sitting in school and hearing that one rolling in before it even hit us). Besides those two big blunders, we've been lucky not to be hit with a large natural disaster around a big city in a while. I could not imagine what would happen if Vancouver was in the same situation that the TÅhoku region of Japan is in right now.
Because we sit in the same Pacific Rim danger zone as Japan, a lot of us here in BC feel connected to the disaster. Sure, the province has practiced what to do in an emergency situation, but that doesn't mean we're ready. Surviving a major earthquake is hard - surviving the aftermath is downright life-altering. What really comforts me is that, no matter where the disaster happens, the rest of the world always go out of their way to help. The Canadian Red Cross collected $6 million dollars from citizens so far for Japanese relief aid - and that doesn't include the millions that have been given by private donations. We've donated, but it doesn't seem enough for our Pacific Rim brethren. This is why C&C decided to join the Online Bake Sale for Japan set up by wonderful blog, The Tomato Tart.
