No tsunami threat to B.C. after massive earthquake in Russia

A 3D rendering of a seismograph with paper in action along with computational modelling of earthquakes. (File photo/ Petrovich9/iStockImages)

British Columbia’s emergency management office says there is no threat of a tsunami in the province after a massive earthquake struck off the coast of Russia on Thursday.

The 7.8-magnitude quake was detected at 11:58 a.m. Pacific time, at a location approximately 410 kilometres southwest of Bering Island, according to Emergency Management B.C.

The quake struck at an estimated depth of 9.6 kilometres.

“A large earthquake has occurred in the Pacific Basin near Kamchatka, Russia,” the office said in a statement shortly after noon.

“The (U.S.) National Tsunami Warning Center has advised that no zones of coastal British Columbia are at risk from this event,” the office said in an update shortly after 1 p.m. “Repeat, no zones of coastal British Columbia are at risk from this event.”

The earthquake prompted a tsunami advisory for Alaska’s Aleutian Islands and western parts of the state, according to the United States National Weather Service.

The U.S. Geological Survey says the quake is an aftershock of an 8.8-magnitude earthquake that shook the Kamchatka Peninsula on July 29.

“The aftershock resulted from shallow reverse faulting,” the geological survey office said in a statement. “At the earthquake’s location, the Pacific Plate is moving west-northwest relative to the North American Plate.”

The USGS says Thursday’s quake was the largest aftershock recorded following the main earthquake in July, exceeding a 7.4-magnitude aftershock on Sept. 13.