Earthquake near Victoria rattles residents on B.C.’s south coast

The earthquake was recorded 17 kilometres off Victoria shortly before 10 p.m., with people in Metro Vancouver, and even Seattle, feeling its effects.

A 3.8-magnitude earthquake struck off the southern coast of Vancouver Island on Thursday night, rattling residents in Greater Victoria and as far away as Nanaimo and Vancouver.

The quake struck at 9:59 p.m. with its epicentre approximately 16 kilometres south of Victoria, almost squarely on the Canada-U.S. marine border in the Juan de Fuca Strait, according to both Earthquakes Canada and the U.S. Geological Survey.

The earthquake was recorded at a depth of about 40 kilometres, the agencies reported, though the USGS revised its initial seismic estimate from a magnitude of 3.8 down to 3.7.

No damage or injuries were reported, according to authorities.

While thousands of residents in the region took to social media to post about their experiences, more than 700 people had reported feeling the shaking to the USGS by Friday morning and about 200 reported it to Earthquakes Canada.

Residents as far away as Nanaimo, Metro Vancouver, and Seattle felt the shaking, according to the agencies, though most reports were submitted from residents in Greater Victoria, the southern Gulf Islands and the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state.

In a social media post following the quake, Emergency Info BC urged residents to get on the floor, preferably under cover, and hang on to something if they experience shaking.

Earthquakes Canada says the largest earthquake ever recorded in the area was a 7.4-magnitude quake in December 1872, followed by a 7.3-magnitude quake recorded in June 1946 and a 7.1 recorded in April 1949.