WATCH: A 3.1-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of southern Vancouver Island Saturday night. Experts say it’s part of the same cycle that will deliver the “Big One.” Isabelle Raghem reports.
A 3.1-magnitude quake was reported 24 kilometres northeast of Victoria, at 10:57 p.m. Saturday.
No damage has been reported and no tsunami warning was issued.
The United States Geological Survey says it was a magnitude-3.1 earthquake that struck 14 kilometres deep.
Earthquakes Canada reports it measured at a magnitude-2.7, at a depth of 10 kilometres.
“Those magnitudes are actually quite similar. Different agencies have different sets of seismic stations, different stations situated on different rocks,” explains Natural Resource Canada earthquake seismologist Taimi Mulder.
It comes two weeks after a 7.9-magnitude earthquake struck 281 kilometres south-east of Kodiak City, Alaska on Jan. 23 ? leading many on B.C?s coast to evacuate to higher ground from a potential tsunami.
More than a thousand people reported their experiences online from Sidney to Victoria. It was felt as far away as Courtenay.
Saturday night’s quake is part of the cycle that will deliver the “Big One.
“This is part of this system,” Mulder adds.
Experts insist this doesn’t mean there are more quakes than usual or that this most recent quake should be alarming.
“Communication has become much cheaper, instruments are slightly cheaper so there are more earthquakes because we can record smaller earthquakes,” says Mulder.
This smaller quake is a useful reminder of the pressures building underground.
For more information on getting prepared for an earthquake, you can visit Emergency Preparedness BC.
Isabelle Raghem
