Powerful quake strikes Canada's Vancouver Island
VANCOUVER: A 6.7-magnitude earthquake struck Vancouver Island on Canada's west coast on Friday, the US Geological Survey said, but no tsunami warning was issued.
The epicenter of the quake was located 135 kilometers (84 miles) south-southeast of the town of Port Hardy on the island, and about 280 kilometers west of the city of Vancouver, the USGS said.
The earthquake struck at a depth of about 26 kilometers (16 miles), it said, revising its initial assessment that the quake hit just two kilometers under the surface.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center did not issue a warning, saying there was "no destructive widespread tsunami threat." It did however warn authorities to be prepared for local tidal swells.
The quake was only lightly felt in Vancouver, according to an AFP journalist in the city, which is not on Vancouver Island.
"My boss asked me, 'Did you feel that?' and I said no," city resident Helder Matos Santos, who works in a graphic design firm, told AFP.
The strongest quake ever recorded in Vancouver dates back to 1946.
Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011
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