UCLUELET, B.C. — Earthquakes Canada say no tsunami is expected following a magnitude 4.5 earthquake that was felt on Vancouver Island and in Greater Vancouver.
The federal agency says the seismic event was detected at 1:35 p.m. Pacific time about 38 kilometres underground off the west coast of Vancouver Island.
The United States Geological Survey pegs the magnitude at 4.8 and says it struck about 48 kilometres southeast of Ucluelet, B.C.
Earthquakes Canada says there have been no reports of damage and none would be expected.
Some social media users say on Twitter that they felt the shake as far away as Metro Vancouver and on Vancouver Island in Nanaimo and Victoria.
Mary-Ann Thorson of Lake Cowichan says she thought her bed was possessed when it started moving up and down.
“It wasn’t shaking sideways, it was kind of like up, topsy-turvy,” she said in a phone interview. “I was thinking I might have to call a priest.”
She estimates the shaking lasted several seconds and says it moved her computer off its stand.
Friday’s event comes after a sequence of eight earthquakes struck off the coast of Vancouver Island between Dec. 23 and 25 that ranged in magnitude from 3.6 to 6.0.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 24, 2020.
The Canadian Press