A 2.3-magnitude earthquake rumbled the West Shore on Tuesday night.
Seismologist John Cassidy says it’s a common occurrence, with more than 1,000 earthquakes off Vancouver Island each year. Most of those are offshore and small, “but the earthquake last night at 2.3 was just at the threshold that if you were close you might feel a slight shake.”
The quake at 10:06 p.m. was centred about 14 kilometres northeast of Sooke, at a depth of 24 kilometres.
The U.S. Geological Survey measured it at a magnitude of 2.3, while Earthquakes Canada said it was 2.4.
2.3 magnitude #earthquake. 7 km from #Langford, British Columbia, Canada https://t.co/0hckITn3Y7
— Earthquake Alerts (@QuakesToday) March 7, 2018
EARTHQUAKE Mag=2.4 on 06 Mar at 22:06 PST.
— Earthquakes Canada (@CANADAquakes) March 7, 2018
Details : https://t.co/xwuUgNM4Mf
14 km WSW of Sidney, BC
19 km NW of Victoria, BC
People in Victoria, Sooke and Langford reported on social media that they felt it.
“I didn’t feel it, but because it was about 25 kilometres below the surface, even those on top of it just felt mild shaking,” said Cassidy.
Cassidy said it’s a good reminder to residents to be prepared for the eventuality of a large and damaging earthquake.
Quakes such as those Tuesday night are helpful to scientists, as they work to improve upon and gather more data that feeds into improved building codes, for example, as well as hazard models and emergency preparedness.
M2.3 earthquake on southern #VancouverIsland last night. Lightly felt, no damage. Well-recorded on seismographs across southwest BC.
— John Cassidy (@earthquakeguy) March 7, 2018
Details:https://t.co/HJO81OiEWY
Tell us what you felt here:https://t.co/5tgDfoNxtm pic.twitter.com/RnNWP9kXY9
Last night's earthquake was one of 1050 earthquakes recorded in the vicinity of #VancouverIsland during the past year. Most were offshore @Ocean_Networks These small earthquakes are friendly reminders of an earthquake zone, and help advance earthquake science. #NRCanSci pic.twitter.com/tydUBwxUu9
— John Cassidy (@earthquakeguy) March 7, 2018