Magnitude 6.4 earthquake shakes Vancouver Island, Canada

Added by Gary Dunn on September 9, 2011

Vancouver Island, on the western coast of Canada, was rattled by an earthquake on Friday – no damage or injuries were reported.

The earthquake struck at 7:41pm UTC/GMT with its epicentre about 290km (179mi) WNW of the city of Victoria, British Columbia and 23km deep. The earthquake was initially reported to be a magnitude 6.7 but was soon downgraded to 6.4.

Although a Tsunami warning was not issued, the NOAA/NWS Pacific Tsunami Warning Center noted that earthquakes of this magnitude can create local tsunamis that can be destructive along coastlines within 100km (60mi) of the epicentre.

Although residents of the lower mainland did not feel the earthquake, people as far away as Oregon felt remnants of the earthquake.

Twitter users reported the earthquake as it happened.