Waiting for the tsunami: Tofino’s waves are loved by surfers – but this Canadian town is braced for disaster

Tofino's shoreline is popular with surfers. But climate change is eroding beaches and worsening storms that push water much farther inland. Photograph: Leyland Cecco/The Guardian

Justin Goss was in the shower when he first heard the piercing wail of a nearby tsunami early-warning siren. Still dripping wet, he threw on clothes, grabbed his dog and rushed to the truck. The pair made it 3 metres and no further.

“The whole parking lot across the street was jammed up. It was complete gridlock within three minutes,” he says. “I thought, ‘Oh shit, this is not good.’”