An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.1 has rocked Vancouver, Victoria and other cites on B.C.'s southwest coast, with residents near the centre describing the shaking as "wild" and like a truck crash.
Natural Resources Canada said the quake was centred 24 kilometres north-northeast of Sechelt on the Sunshine Coast, which would put the quake roughly 60 or 70 kilometres northwest of Vancouver.
It said the quake occurred at 1:26 p.m. local time on Friday, at a depth of about 1 kilometre, and there were no immediate reports of damage.
The U.S. National Tsunami Warning Center said there was no risk of a tsunami.
Karen Weissenborn was working at a gift store in Sechelt when the earthquake triggered the store’s alarm.
She said the shaking started as mild and then got more intense, and her first reaction was thinking that a “truck has slammed into the wall.”
Brynn Campbell was working at a clothing store in Sechelt.
“It was like a big rumble, yeah, and the glass was shaking, that was wild,” said Campbell.
“At first we thought it was like construction or something, to be completely honest. And then we kind of were like, Oh no, no, no. That was an earthquake."
Campbell said there was no damage at the store.
Taimi Mulder, an earthquake seismologist with Natural Resources Canada, said B.C. has been “overdue” for a larger earthquake since 1946, when a magnitude 7.3 quake struck the Courtenay area on Vancouver Island.
“It’s definitely a really good wake-up call that we all need to be prepared,” she said of Friday’s quake.
“Mentally, be prepared that we could have a large earthquake and that they really do happen here. Second of all, know what to do when you experience an earthquake, so for instance, that would be drop, cover, and hold on.”
Mulder said information about Friday’s quake was still preliminary and more details would be confirmed throughout the day.
The offshore earthquake often dubbed “the big one” has a recurrence interval of about 250 to 800 years, with the last one recorded 325 years ago, she said. “So we’re in the time window between now and the next 500 years for another one of those.”
John Cassidy, another seismologist with Natural Resources Canada, said shallow earthquakes typically bring aftershocks that may or may not be felt in the coming days.
Reports from Earthquakes Canada and the U.S. Geological Survey said several thousand people reported feeling the quake, with most saying it was a light to moderate intensity.
British Columbia's emergency information website said officials were monitoring the situation and the public should stand by for more information.
Posts on social media suggested the quake was felt across much of the Lower Mainland, as well as Vancouver Island.
The operator of E-Comm, the 911 service provider for British Columbia issued a news release Friday reminding people who felt the quake that their call centre is for emergencies only.
On Thursday, a 5.2 magnitude earthquake was detected roughly 63 kilometres northeast of Grande Cache, Alta., but it wasn't believed to have caused any damage.
Last week a string of much smaller quakes shook B.C., including a 3.8 magnitude tremor off the southern coast that was felt across southern Vancouver Island.
Earthquakes Canada says shaking from an earthquake increases about 10 times for each whole increase in magnitude; for instance a magnitude 6 quake is felt ten times more strongly than a magnitude 5 quake.
It says it is "very unlikely that an earthquake of magnitude less than 5 could cause any damage."
