Friday, March 29, 2024

There were 7 earthquakes off the coast of Vancouver Island in the past 24 hours

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Did anyone feel that?

A grand total of seven earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.3 to 6.8 took place on Sunday night and Monday morning off the coast of Vancouver Island.

The first quake, of 6.6 magnitude, struck about 218 km southwest of Port Hardy, at 10:39 pm and had a shallow epicentre of 10 km.

The second and strongest tremor, with a magnitude of 6.8, was detected just 37 minutes after the first, at 11:16 p.m, and was located near the first quake.

At 6.5 magnitude, the third seismic event occurred 223 km southwest of Port Hardy at 11:22 p.m.

Three more follow

As if that weren’t enough, three smaller aftershocks followed the major 6+ magnitude quakes.

According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), the magnitude 4.9, 4.4, and 5.2 earthquakes also occurred around the same epicentre at 11:36 p.m., 1:43 a.m., and 9:27 a.m. respectively.

(USGS)

All of these tremors took place on the Explore Plate, which experts say is not in the same subduction zone where the “Big One” would hit B.C.

However, these quakes would have caused major damage if they were closer to land. Since the epicentre was on the open ocean, no damage was expected, and no tsunami warnings were issued.

Sunday night’s 6.8 magnitude tremor was the largest earthquake in BC since the magnitude 7.8 earthquake on October 27, 2012, in Haida Gwaii. Several Victoria Buzz readers reported being able to feel the massive shake.

The seven consecutive seismic events comes just days after BC’s largest earthquake drill on October 18th.

While knowing what to do could mean the difference between life and death in case a major earthquake strikes closer to home, it wouldn’t be enough without the proper equipment to help you survive.

Victoria Buzz scored you a 20% discount on an Emergency Kit

In case you need to drop, cover, and hold on, it’s important to have an emergency kit handy so you don’t lose precious time scrambling for necessities.

GetMyKit offers a range of survival packages from their Basic 1-person kit at $148, to a Deluxe 4-person kit at $398. They’ve even got emergency kits specifically tailored for pets, and vehicle survival.

Each emergency kit contains survival tools like food and water rations, flashlights, S.O.S. flags, whistles, gloves, and much more.

Use the code “BUZZ20” to get 20% off on your GetMyKit emergency kit today – only valid til midnight on Thursday, October 25th. 

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Brishti Basu
Former Senior Staff Writer and Content Manager at Victoria Buzz.

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