A report presented to city councilors Tuesday details just how destructive a mega-earthquake could be for Vancouver.

The report was led by Micah Hilt, a seismic policy planner hired by the City of Vancouver.

The results are striking. Up to $17 billion in destruction is expected, more than 6,000 private buildings could be damaged, and more than 1,300 people could be seriously injured or killed.

These figures are a prediction of what would happen if a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck the city. Scientists predict that a mega-earthquake will hit the city within the next 50 years.

Hilt’s findings show that six neighborhoods account for 65 percent of the overall risk in the city:

• west end
• Downtown East District
• Downtown
• Kitsilano
• Fairview
• Mount Pleasant

“In these areas, three-quarters of residents are renters. Many of them are low-income. Many of them are elderly. And that’s a key goal as we work to develop a strategy to gradually reduce risk,” Hilt said in an interview with CTV News.

Many buildings in these neighborhoods were built before 1990 and are made of older brick, wood, and concrete, which poses a higher risk.

All councilors voted in favor of developing a comprehensive earthquake risk reduction strategy for 2025, a move Kieth Porter says is beneficial for the whole country.

“We are all connected economically,” said Porter, chief engineer of the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction.

“A disaster in British Columbia and Vancouver because city council does not act would hurt the rest of the country. »

The current report does not describe the costs. Hilt says the undertaking will undoubtedly be massive and will require federal and provincial support.

Although the costs would be substantial, Porter says it’s much less expensive to do it now than later.

“The choice (for councilors) is between paying for mitigation now as part of a majestic, well-thought-out plan process or recovering from a disaster and then paying for mitigation,” Porter said.

The report suggests the city prioritize buildings most at risk and consider incentives to help building owners improve their properties.