A pair of moderate earthquakes off the west coast of Vancouver Island about 4:30 a.m. Wednesday happened in one of Canada’s most seismically active areas.
The first quake had a magnitude of four and the second was a five, with the two occurring within about 50 kilometres of each other about 250 kilometres off the coast near Tofino.
Neither would have been big enough to feel, said National Resources Canada seismologist Joseph Farrugia.
The B.C. incidents were preceded by a 7.8-magnitude quake off the Alaskan Peninsula about 11:35 p.m. Tuesday.
Quakes with a magnitude of 7 or above don’t happen often, Farrugia said — there have only been seven or eight in the past 100 years.
A tsunami warning was issued by the National Tsunami Warning Centre, but it was soon determined that there was no danger to the Pacific coast of North America, Farrugia said.
A wave of about 30 centimetres was produced.
