Magnitude-6.6 quake strikes off British Columbia, no damage reported

USPA News - A strong and shallow earthquake struck off Vancouver Island in British Columbia on late Wednesday, with tremors felt as far away as the Canadian city of Vancouver and the U.S. state of Washington, seismologists said. There were no reports of damage or casualties.

The 6.6-magnitude earthquake at 8:10 p.m. local time on Wednesday (0310 GMT Thursday) was centered about 94 kilometers (58 miles) south of Port Hardy, a district municipality located on the north-eastern coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia. It struck about 11.4 kilometers (7.1 miles) deep, making it a shallow earthquake, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). Authorities in Port Hardy said there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries after Wednesday`s earthquake. "The District of Port Hardy Emergency Coordinator and Public Works staff have determined that our infrastructure has not sustained damage," a district spokesperson said. Earthquakes Canada of the Natural Resources ministry said the earthquake had been felt throughout Vancouver Island and Canada`s Lower Mainland, but there were no reports of serious damage anywhere. The USGS said residents in the northernmost parts of the U.S. state of Washington had also reported feeling light tremors. After Wednesday`s earthquake, the U.S. National Tsunami Warning Center, whose area of responsibility includes the coast of British Columbia, briefly cautioned about the potential for a dangerous tsunami. A second bulletin was issued seven minutes later after experts analyzed the earthquake and determined there was no threat. Similar earthquakes with magnitudes of 6.6 and 6.4 struck off the coast of Vancouver Island in November 2004 and September 2011, respectively, but no damage or casualties were reported from either event even though shaking was felt across the region. The country`s worst quake on record happened in 1774 when a powerful earthquake of unknown magnitude killed at least 300 people on the island of Newfoundland.