4.9 quake hits near Victoria, Canada; shaking felt in Seattle
A 4.9 magnitude earthquake has struck near Victoria, British Columbia, in Canada, the US Geological Survey said. Tremors have been reportedly felt as far away as Seattle.
The epicenter was 19km northeast of Victoria and struck just before midnight. A tsunami warning has not been issued.
No injuries have been reported, while the seismic activity was reportedly 42km deep, according to CBC.
Nearby Vancouver has shut down its SkyTrain Expo, M-line, due to the quake. The authorities say it will only reopen once the situation is considered safe, TransLink BC is reporting on its Twitter feed.
The Vancouver Mayor’s office says there have been no reports of any major damage in the city, with no power outages either.
An auditor general’s report in 2014 mentioned that British Columbia is not prepared for a major earthquake. Experts say that a quake with a magnitude of 7.3 could prove catastrophic, resulting in as many as 10,000 deaths, while some buildings would collapse, the Vancouver Observer reports.
The last major earthquake to hit the area was on Vancouver Island in 1946.
#Earthquake tracker: 4.9 M quake shakes Victoria, B.C. https://t.co/4RWDvLCJD6pic.twitter.com/mk8z5WZCxE
— KIRO Radio 97.3 FM (@KIRORadio) December 30, 2015
Be prepared for aftershocks. The 4.9 magnitude earthquake was 19 km (12 mi) NNE of Victoria, BC.
— Vancouver Weather (@yvrwx) December 30, 2015
@klcblair apparently epicentre was basically Sidney Spit Island #earthquake#Victoria
— Kimberly Blair (@klcblair) December 30, 2015
#BREAKING: The earthquake that struck near #Victoria 20 minutes ago—has been upgraded to 4.9 in magnitude. No injuries or damage reported.
— Sarah MacDonald (@CTVSarah) December 30, 2015
Earthquake at Saanich BC in Canada
Felt shake near Seattle, Mount Vernon Anacortes and Oak Harbor all in Washington State
— alexserrano (@HydroVortex21) December 30, 2015
Mag 4.8 #Earthquake near Seattle. Felt all over Metro Vancouver just a few min ago. 911 being overflowed with callers asking about quake.
— ScanBC (@ScanBC) December 30, 2015
#RiderAlert SkyTrain Expo, M-Line is shutting down due to the recent earthquake until we can determine that our guideway is safe ^jkd
— TransLink BC (@TransLink) December 30, 2015