Magnitude 6.5 earthquake reported off British Columbia coast on Sunday

The Weather Network
Mon, 16 Sep 2024 10:15 UTC

Officials reported a 6.5-magnitude earthquake struck off the B.C. coast Sunday afternoon

A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck off the southern tip of British Columbia's Haida Gwaii around 3:30 p.m. local time on Sunday afternoon.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported the M6.5 quake was centered about 265 km south of Prince Rupert, B.C., and it occurred at a depth of 33 km beneath the surface.

The U.S. Tsunami Warning Center said that there was no threat of a tsunami from this earthquake

Due to the earthquake's offshore epicentre and steep depth, there were few reports of shaking felt on land.

Sunday's quake struck along the Queen Charlotte Fault, which is a strike-slip boundary between the Pacific Plate and North American Plate.

This region is highly susceptible to seismic activity due to the faulting in the region. The largest earthquake in recent memory to strike near Sunday's temblor was a magnitude 7.8 that occurred on October 27, 2012.

Aftershocks are likely in the hours and days following Sunday's earthquake.