Emergency officials say there was no damage or injuries and no threat of a tsunami after a series of earthquakes shook off the coast of British Columbia. Three earthquakes were recorded west of Vancouver Island overnight Sunday and early Monday morning. The first event was a magnitude 4.9 earthquake that struck approximately 195 kilometres west of Port McNeill, B.C., according to the U.S. Geological Survey. EmergencyInfoBC issued a brief statement on social media urging anyone who felt shaking to “drop, cover and hold on.” The second quake struck roughly two hours later in the same area, with a magnitude of 5.4, according to the USGS. The third and final earthquake shook the same region in the early hours of Monday morning and was measured at magnitude 5.2. All three earthquakes were recorded at a depth of about 10 kilometres, the USGS said. The U.S. Tsunami Warning System said there was no danger of a tsunami as a result of the quakes. Earthquakes with magnitudes between 3.5 and 5.4 are “often felt, but rarely cause damage,” according to Earthquakes Canada. The agency says earthquakes at and above magnitude 6.1 can cause damage to poorly constructed buildings up to 100 kilometres from the epicentre, while earthquakes that measure higher than magnitude 7.0 are considered major quakes that can cause significant damage over large areas.
