Aftershocks continue from Saturday’s 7.7 earthquake that struck B.C. coast
The US Geological Survey says a magnitude 6.2 earthquake off the west coast of Canada is an aftershock of the magnitude 7.7 quake that struck two nights ago.
A geophysicist says the agency had no immediate reports that the latest quake caused any significant damage or was widely felt.
The National Weather Service West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Centre said the Monday night quake was not expected to generate a tsunami.
USGS geophysicist Susan Hoover in Golden, Colorado, says an even larger aftershock – a magnitude 6.3 quake – was recorded on Sunday in the same general area off British Columbia’s Queen Charlotte Islands.
Since the 7.7 quake, Hoover says nearly 80 quakes registering magnitude 4.0 or higher have been recorded in the area. A 6.4-magnitude earthquake was reported near Sandspit, B.C. Sunday at 11:54 local time. It has not resulted in a tsunami warning.
A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck B.C.’s coastal Haida Gwaii area Saturday night, triggering tsunami warnings along the north coast and as far away as Hawaii.
The quake was centered 202 kilometres south-southwest of Prince Rupert at a depth of 17.5 kilometres, said the U.S. Geological Survey. It struck at 8:04 p.m. PT, followed by several aftershocks, as powerful as 5.8.
Natural Resources Canada said the first earthquake was felt across much of north-central B.C., including Haida Gwaii, Prince Rupert, Quesnel, and Houston.
“It looks like the damage and the risk is at a very low level, we are very grateful for that,” said Shirley Bond, B.C.’s minister responsible for emergency management, in a conference call with media on Saturday night. She said four communities had been evacuated.
“A small tsunami has been recorded by a deep ocean pressure sensor,” said Emergency Management B.C.
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