Tsunami warnings and advisories along Coast of British Columbia, following a strong earthquake off SouthEastern Alaska has been cancelled.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake had a preliminary reading of 7.5 and struck at 12:50 a.m. local time, about 102 kilometres west of Craig, Alaska and some 300 kilometres west-northwest of Prince Rupert, B.C.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake had a preliminary reading of 7.5 and struck at 12:50 a.m. local time, about 102 kilometres west of Craig, Alaska and some 300 kilometres west-northwest of Prince Rupert, B.C.
The Alaska Tsunami Warning Center had issued tsunami warnings for the southern coast of southern Alaska, stretching for 765 kilometres to the northern tip of Vancouver Island — but the centre cancelled the warnings a few hours later.
CBC meteorologist Joanna Wagstaffe said a small tsunami wave was generated off Port Alexander, Alaska. In addition, at least two strong aftershocks measuring 4.5 and 4.7 were reported after the initial quake.
"But there are dozens of smaller aftershocks occurring," Wagstaffe said.
"Woke me up from a dead sleep," said one woman describing the initial quake on her Twitter feed from Haida Gwaii, formerly the Queen Charlottetown Islands in B.C., which was hit by a 7.7-magnitude quake last October.
Before the early Saturday tsunami warning was cancelled, B.C.'s emergency notification centre said a tsunami could impact low-lying coastal areas in northern and central areas.
When a tsunami warning is issued, people are advised to move to higher ground.
Shortly after the quake struck, a tsunami advisory was issued for the outer west coast of Vancouver Island from Cape Scott to Cape Renfrew and in the Juan de Fuca Strait from Jordan River to Greater Victoria, but Julianne McCaffrey of Emergency Management B.C. told CBC News that advisory was later cancelled.
An advisory means strong currents are likely and people should stay away from the shore.
Officials in Craig reported on the city's Twitter feed they are "standing down" from the tsunami warning. But they warned people "may experience aftershocks over the next several days."
