A tsunami warning is in effect for the British Columbia coast after a 7.1 earthquake struck the Queen Charlotte Islands region at about 8 p.m. local time Saturday night.
Photograph by: Image courtesy, Earthquake Canada
OTTAWA — A tsunami warning is in effect for the British Columbia coast after a major magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the Queen Charlotte Islands region at 8:04 p.m. local time Saturday night.
The epicenter of the earthquake was located 198 kilometres south-southwest of Prince Rupert at a depth of 10 km in a seismically active region, said the
U.S. Geological Survey and
Earthquakes Canada, who measured the quake at a magnitude of 7.7. Earthquake Canada initially measured it at magnitude 7.1 but altered their report later Saturday.
The U.S. Geological Survey also measured two aftershock at magnitude 5.8 at 8:14 p.m. and magnitude 4.8 at 8:52 p.m. PDT.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center and Environment Canada both issued a tsunami warning for the area from the northern tip of Vancouver Island to Cape Decision, Alaska, extending into Washington, Oregon, Northern California and Hawaii as the evening progressed.
They and other emergency officials advised all coastal residents in those areas to move to higher ground, stay away from all harbours, inlets, including those sheltered from the sea, and not return to such areas until directed to do so by local emergency officials. People were asked to keep phone lines clear and listen to the radio for updates and instructions.
Waves were expected to arrive at Langara by 21:16 PDT and the northern tip of Vancouver Island by 21:17 PDT on October 27, Environment Canada reported.
Emergency Info BC said the first waves seen are usually not the largest, and the waves can go on for several hours. Information about dealing with an emergency is available at their website, as are the latest updates to the tsunami warning:
www.emergencyinfobc.gov.bc.ca
Earthquakes Canada seismologist John Cassidy said the major quake was felt across much of north-central B.C., including Haida Gwaii, Prince Rupert, Quesnel, Houston and Kamloops.
He said no injuries had been reported from the quake itself as it occurred far offshore, though it was large enough to cause extensive damage if located in habited areas. He could not speak to the possible damage from a related tsunami.
The "slip" quake was caused by two tectonic plates — the North American and Pacific plates — sliding past each other along the Queen Charlotte Fault, he added.
Cassidy said that though the Queen Charlotte Fault where this occurred is seismically active, experiencing in recent years earthquakes of magnitude 6 to 6.5, this is the largest quake measured there since a 8.1 magnitude one in 1949.
He said a quake of that size will come with aftershocks over the next few days.
"People should be aware of those and know what to do in the event of an aftershock, which is get under a desk or table and protect yourself from falling objects, mostly."
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