Large earthquake strikes spot off coast of British Columbia

According to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre, the quake struck 518 kilometres west of Vancouver.

Seismologist Guenter Asch explains the graphic display of the recent Sichuan earthquake in southwest China, shown in red, rendered from the data transmitted by the closest seismic monitoring station on the Indonesian Island of Nias, being displayed at the German Research Center for Geo Sciences, GFZ, in Potsdam, Germany, May 13, 2008. (File photo)
AP

Seismologist Guenter Asch explains the graphic display of the recent Sichuan earthquake in southwest China, shown in red, rendered from the data transmitted by the closest seismic monitoring station on the Indonesian Island of Nias, being displayed at the German Research Center for Geo Sciences, GFZ, in Potsdam, Germany, May 13, 2008. (File photo)

A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck a spot off the coast of British Columbia Tuesday, the US Geological Survey said.

At 8:36 pm, the earthquake hit a spot 182 kilometres (113 miles) west of Port Hardy, a town of about 4,100 people, the agency said. It had a depth of 10 kilometres (6.2 miles.)

A tsunami is not expected, the National Tsunami Center in Alaska said.

On Monday, a series of five earthquakes with magnitudes ranging from 4.8 to 6.0 were recorded Monday in British Columbia.

The Seattle Times reports four of the five quakes were recorded as striking primarily on Vancouver Island and at the northern end of Victoria Island in Port Alice and Port Hardy, according to the government’s Earthquakes Canada website.

According to the website, the quakes recorded Monday around Vancouver Island were: a magnitude 5.1 at 8:44 am; a magnitude 5.6 at 11:13 am; a magnitude 5.8 at 11:49 am; a magnitude 6.0 at 12:56 pm; and a magnitude 4.8 at 3:38 pm.

In addition, a magnitude 4.3 earthquake was recorded at 9:32 pm Monday at the Village of Queen Charlotte on Moresby Island, northwest of Victoria.

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