Vancouver island in Canada shaken by strong earthquake
Baku, September 10 (AZERTAC). A strong earthquake struck off Vancouver Island in British Columbia on early Friday afternoon, seismologists said, with tremors felt as far away as the capital of Vancouver and the U.S. state of Washington.
The 6.7-magnitude earthquake at 12.41 p.m. local time (1941 GMT) was centered about 119 kilometers (73 miles) west-northwest of Ucluelet, a district municipality in British Columbia on the west coast of Vancouver Island. It struck about 25.9 kilometers (16.1 miles deep), making it a shallow earthquake, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
The USGS estimated that some 2,000 people living near the epicenter may have felt strong shaking, while around 248,000 people were estimated to have felt light to moderate shaking. Tremors were felt as far away as Campbell River, Port Hardy and Vancouver, as well as Neah Bay and Seattle in the U.S. state of Washington.
Police in both Seattle and Vancouver said there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties as a result of the earthquake, which was initially measured as 6.7 magnitude, and the USGS said there was a low likelihood of casualties and damage.
This earthquake is Canada`s largest historic onshore earthquake. However, the greatest earthquake in Canadian history recorded by seismometers was the 1949 Queen Charlotte earthquake, an interplate earthquake that occurred on the ocean bottom just off the rugged coast of Graham Island, which reached magnitude 8.1 on the moment magnitude scale.
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