CMEDIA: An earthquake of 4.5-magnitude struck 42 km east of Sidney, B.C. this morning.
According to Earthquakes Canada, the earthquake occurred at 5:02 a.m. PT, was lightly felt around Victoria and Vancouver.
It happened near Orcas Island, Wash., which is between Vancouver and Seattle and just south of B.C.’s Southern Gulf Islands.
There are no reports of damage, and a public alert was not issued, said a statement, because the magnitude and intensity were below thresholds at which harm might be expected.
It also says there is no tsunami risk.
John Cassidy, seismologist with Natural Resources Canada reported saying that he felt the earthquake this morning from North Saanich and added “It was a bit of a rude awakening.”
The earthquake was about 15-20 km deep, said Cassidy and was felt over the entire region from Courtenay down to Tacoma, Wash.
There have reportedly been four earthquakes felt in Victoria over the past two weeks, but none of the activity is unusual as there are earthquakes in the region every day.
“They’re all different, they’re far enough apart, we wouldn’t expect to see these connected in any way,” said Cassidy. and asked those who felt the quake should fill out the Earthquakes Canada “Did you feel it?” form.” as it helps us to better understand ground shaking across urban areas.
