Six quakes strike off B.C.’s coast, no damage or injuries

OTTAWA — At least six earthquakes struck off the coast of Vancouver Island Monday.

The most recent came in around 9:30 p.m. as a magnitude 4.3 and struck 29 kilometres southwest of the Village of Queen Charlotte.

The largest was a 6.0 magnitude and rattled off the northwest tip of the island at 12:56 p.m.

Others measured in range from magnitude 5.1 to 5.8.

The first three were more than 100 kilometres off the northern end of Vancouver Island in the Pacific Ocean and were measured at a depth of about five kilometres.

Andrew Schaeffer of Earthquakes Canada tells NEWS 1130 it is doubtful anyone felt the quakes.

“It would be pretty hard to distinguish [the earthquake] from a big truck driving by a few 100 meters away,” Schaeffer says. “It’s far enough away that even something that large isn’t that strong itself.”

Earthquakes Canada says there were no tsunami warnings, no reports of damage or injuries from the quakes, and none would be expected from earthquakes that size.

The area in the Pacific off Vancouver Island and Haida Gwaii is a hot spot for earthquakes with movement from both the Queen Charlotte Fault and Cascadia Subduction Zone, although many of the quakes are never felt.