Separate quakes hit off B.C. and Alaska, but cause no damage, tsunami

VANCOUVER – A moderate earthquake has occurred off northwest Vancouver Island but emergency officials in British Columbia say it has not produced a tsunami.

Earthquakes Canada says the magnitude 5.4 quake struck at 4:33 a.m. and was centred 285 kilometres west of Campbell River.

The U.S. Geological Survey website shows the shaker could have been lightly felt on Vancouver Island but would not have been powerful enough to cause damage.

Just hours earlier, at 11:13 p.m. PT, an unrelated but much more powerful earthquake occurred off Alaska.

The 7.8 magnitude quake, centred in waters south of the Alaska Peninsula, caused a brief tsunami warning for that area but produced a wave no higher than 30 centimetres.

The U.S. Geological Survey reports the shaker, strongly felt 800 kilometres away in Anchorage, has been followed by a cluster of aftershocks, but there are no reports of damage.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 22, 2020

— With files from the Associated Press