Major Earthquake Rocks Coastal BC
Sunday, October 28, 2012 @ 7:11 AM
Prince George, B.C. – A major magnitude 7.7 earthquake centered 25 kilometers south of Sandspit was felt as far east as Edmonton and as far south as the northwest United States.
Residents in Prince Rupert, Terrace, the Bulkley Valley, Vanderhoof, Fort St. James, Prince George, Quesnel and elsewhere reported couches rumbling beneath them, furniture moving around rooms, walls, light fixtures and trees swaying, light standards moving and vehicles veering along roads.
However, surprisingly considering the strength of the quake, there have so far been no reports of anyone being hurt or major damage recorded. Some residents on Haidi Gwaii and at Port Edward were evacuated from their homes and sent to higher ground after a tsunami warning was issued for Haida Gwaii, the north coast including Bella Bella and Bella Coola and down to the northern tip of Vancouver Island. An advisory stretching down the island to Victoria was also put in place. 1800 people were evacuated from Masset and Old Masset, but the total number of people evacuated from all communities has not been tallied. The tsunami warning was lifted early this morning and downgraded to an advisory for coastal areas.
The quake occurred at 8:04pm Saturday. Emergency Operations centres in Prince Rupert and Victoria immediately swung into action while local authorities activated their emergency plans and instituted measures to ensure public safety.
Kelly Kryzanowski with Emergency Management B.C. says, “for public safety people should stay away from any low-lying coastal areas, but while there may be sea level fluctuations of up to half a metre, no widespread inundations are expected.”
Dennis Sinnot with the Institute of Ocean Sciences says officials began monitoring tide stations immediately following the quake and while there were readings of 40 and 60 centimetres coming in from some of those stations, things settled down rather quickly. He says “the highest wave recorded was at the southern end of Lanagara Island at 69 centimetres and Winter Harbour 65 centimetres.” He says “that’s from trough to peak so that’s a fairly big wave. But that’s recorded over 15 or 20 minutes so you wouldn’t really notice it as a big wave of water.”
The Minister Responsible for Emergency Management, Shirley Bond, says “it looks at this point that the damage has been very minimal. We’re very greatful for that but we’ll wait to see what the impact is going to be.” She reiterates that the government is willing to provide any assistance needed by those communities which have been affected.
Comments
Never felt or noticed a thing
Felt it out at Chief Lake too. I had vertigo issues this summer and thought it was just that till I read the news this morning.
Never felt a thing in college heights but my ears rang for a bit which I thought was strange and has never happened before.
Good thing there are no tankers off the coast of BC carrying bitumen being caught in a tsunami!!!!!
Chevy2000… I agree
Sat in my rocker and read all evening and never felt a thing.
Cheers
Thanks again Ben, for the coverage and information you were able to get in Prince George and post. Was great for those of us who formerly lived in PG, as our local news outlets were woefully behind the ball on this.
Comments for this article are closed.