Author's Note- Hey everyone, I would am proud to present this week's chapter, but first a shout out to the reviewers. Thanks Oniongrass, HetaPastaH3ro, Bookwormally, Mofalle, and Anon. Also a very special thank you to Pruhana for betaing this chapter. Well enough of me talking, on to the Canada whumping!
Disclaimer- Still don't own Hetalia, earthquakes, or tsunamis.
Chapter 3-Without Warning
While the Canberra jet was fast, Canada mused, it was clearly not built for comfort. If they had, the designers would have provided a better heating system, a bathroom, and a little more padding. As it were, the jury-rigged caused shooting pain through his already bruised body every time they hit turbulences. There were a few times where he had just barely grabbed America fast enough to keep his head from slamming into the bulkhead. Canada now had a few very sore fingers from that effort.
Still, Canada couldn't find it in his heart to complain about the pain. After all, pain was part of being a nation, especially true considering his western half. The world had come to call the area of land bordering the Pacific Ocean the Ring of Fire, but at times like these Canada tended to think that the Ring of Earthquakes might have been a more appropriate name. It wasn't that British Columbia and the Yukon territories didn't have their share of active and dormant volcanoes. They had more volcanoes than the Continental United States. That said, Alaska with her nearly yearly volcanic eruption seemed to be the only part of North America which actually saw fire on a regular basis.
Earthquakes on the, other hand, Canada saw on a regular basis. A few times every year he would begin to feel a nagging headache build behind his glasses in the middle of meeting, or wake up to a mild throbbing and realize that another tremor had rumbled the western side of his nation. Experiencing earthquakes was simply part of being Canada. What he was feeling now was completely different.
The Yukon, Northwest Territories, British Columbia, and Alberta were all shaken, some worse than others. In addition to the places where the ground could actually be felt moving the ice on rivers and lakes throughout Canada was cracked and shattered. Some of the breaking events had been so violent that it had torn bridges out of the ground and he suspected that the sea ice to the north had been shattered in a similar manner possibly harming arctic communities around the pole.
Canada thoughts stopped drifting when he finally realized that America was not taking the long even breaths of sleep. Instead, each breath was short, almost ragged.
"Alfred… Are you awake?" Canada asked quietly touching his brother's shoulder.
"I don't think I could sleep, even if I wanted to." America muttered, but didn't move.
"Hm?" Canada said neutrally.
"I am just keeping my eyes closed for now. The cabin has a bit more light than I would like, and besides, I think I misplaced Texas somewhere." America brought one of his hands to his face as if to emphasize the point. "My vision is all blurry so there really isn't a point in seeing."
"You have always been a bit near sighted." Canada admitted settling into his seat. "So do you think that the worst has past?"
"Probably," America yawned, and then pressed his head slightly into Canada's shoulder in an effort to ground himself. "The Ocean is still really sloshing in Gulf of Alaska and I am sure that there will be more aftershocks, but I think that most of the damage that could be done has been done."
"I really hope you are right…"
British Columbia had been eating dinner when an earthquake shook his table and caused his dishes to clatter slightly. As far as earthquakes went, it wasn't a particularly big one only registering a 3.8 on the Vancouver seismograph a measurement confirmed by the Port Alberni seismic station. There were higher Richter scale numbers farther north, but nothing strong enough to be worried. In fact it probably wouldn't even get mentioned in the local newspaper.
Once sure that all of his communities were not harmed by the quake, British Columbia sat down to finish his now cold dinner and settled for an evening of reading. He considered calling Washington later that evening or maybe even radioing Alaska tomorrow to see if they felt anything, but all thoughts of the earthquake were soon gone from his mind.
That changed when the shortly after the grandfather clock on in the hall struck midnight. It took a few minutes to realize that something was wrong. He felt a great swell of water rise at his northernmost coast sweeping southward. Moments later, British Columbia realized that there wasn't just one tsunami, but several waves, each with their own varying intensities.
For a while British Columbia was comforted by the fact that it was such a small tsunami, only a fraction of a meter in most places. He noticed a little too late that the wave could climb much higher if it flowed into a narrow inlet. The first small wave had already damaged several harbors, and a wave four or five times its size was coming close on its heels. Not knowing what else to do British Columbia grabbed the phone and dialed the first number he could remember.
"Come on, come on, come on, Ontario just pick up the phone." British Columbia muttered into the phone as he listened to the dial tone. Then there was a click and a familiar if tinny voice on the other end of the line.
"Mr. Williams here." The other province spoke with his usual stressed cadence. "This better be serious; I am about to pick up an important official at the airport."
"Thomas, I have got a major problem…" British Columbia started to say, but words slipped from him and the phone fell from his fingers to clatter onto the floor.
"Sean…Sean!"As Ontario spoke his voice became more and more panicked."British Columbia, what is going on!"
British Columbia had dropped on his knees, and could do nothing but close his eyes as he felt the large wave drown the town of Port Alberni in seawater.
The Canberra was somewhere over Greenland when the main body of the tsunami reached Port Alberni; the sensation overwhelmed Canada. Canada had experienced many tsunamis in the past. In fact only four years ago, several of the British Columbia's coastal community's harbors had been damaged by the Great Chilean Quake. That said, the experience of a one meter wave flooding logging camps was completely different from the feeling of a nearly five meters sweeping across a major town. Canada now understood why drowning was the only way that Dominion of Newfoundland could explain feeling of Lord's Cove being hit by a tsunami in 1929.
Even though Victoria Island was a tiny part of Canada, the thunder of the wave lifting itself onto the land was deafening. The vertigo caused by dirty swirling water, made his stomach rebel. Canada retched, empting the contents of his stomach into an airsick bag, and then dry heaving once there was nothing left in his system. America tried to comfort him, tracing circles on his back, murmuring soothing words, but those were pale comfort in the wake of the overwhelming emotion he was feeling. As the wave tried to wipe Port Alberni from the map, Canada could feel the fear of every man, woman, and child currently fighting for their lives.
By the time the British Royal Air Force Canberra landed at the Canadian Air Force Base in Goose Bay, Newfoundland, Canada could barely stand. The concerned looks that he was currently receiving from the base medical staff, told him he probably looked as bad as he felt. The left side of his body was covered with darkening bruises and tiny cuts that were still oozing blood. His vision was now starting to blur with exhaustion.
"Mr. Williams, we have orders to transport you to capital, but if you don't feel well enough I am sure that it can wait until you have rested…" The Canadian Air Force Officer stood ramrod straight, but his tone indicated he clearly felt that Canada was not up for the flight.
"No!" Canada practically shouted, he knew that it was impossible for the officer to understand what Canada was going through, but it didn't stop him from feeling a tide of protectiveness towards his provinces rise within him. Canada took a few breaths to calm himself before he allowed himself to continue. "No, Canada is currently experiencing a crisis and I need to get to the capital as soon as possible."
"Alright, sir."
The officer still seemed unsure, but he motioned the medical orderly to guide the wheelchair towards the waiting Hercules transport plane. As he was pushed, Canada allowed his eyes to close, until he felt the chair stop on the rough tarmac and a warm hand on his knee. Canada eye's fluttered open and he was greeted by a familiar face.
"Ontario." Canada stated in surprise, too exhausted to care that it was a breach of security.
"Yes, Sir."
"What is going on?" Canada begged to know, his voice filled with grief. "What is happened to British Columbia?"
"Sir, we have a problem…" The province took a deep breath. "The earthquake in Alaska has caused a major tidal wave on western coast of Canada. We can't get a hold of several towns and villages in British Columbia and we fear that they have been destroyed. Add the fact that the tidal wave happened to hit many of these communities in the middle of the night we are expecting casualties in the hundreds." Ontario looked up, his eyes filling with tears. "Sir, this may be Canada's deadliest disaster since the Halifax Explosion and with the harbors destroyed and many roads leading to the BC coast blocked by avalanches, I don't know what we can do to stop the death toll that is climbing higher every minute." Canada nodded quietly, taking in Ontario's report. Then he looked up with a quiet intensity in his violet eyes.
"You do have a plane waiting to take us to British Columbia once we land in Ottawa, right?"
Historical Note-When most people think of earthquakes in North America, they usual think of California. It is very true that California does have a lot of earthquakes, but California is clearly in third place when the type and size of earthquakes in Alaska and British Columbia are taking into account. In fact none of the ten largest earthquakes recorded in North America occurred in the lower 48. The reason behind this is the types of faults located on the western side of the continent.
The famous San Andreas Fault, which runs the length of California is a transform fault. These faults slide horizontally. In contrast, Alaska and British Columbia are located a long subduction zone. These faults slide vertically. Because of the vertical movement, there is a lot more energy that can be released at a subduction zone. There is also a lot greater potential for the elevation of the sea bed to change during these types of earthquakes increasing the risk of a large tsunami.
End Note- Hey everyone. If you enjoyed please leave a review. Thanks!
Next Week's Chapter- Missing- As the tsunami continues to roll southward towards the states of California and Hawaii, America struggles to track down all of the fifty states. Unfortunately, not all of them will be easy to find.