Natural disaster jolts BC residents awake, no warnings issued

Geophysicist John Cassidy with the Sidney, B.C.-based Geological Survey of Canada noted the quake was between 50 and 60 kilometres below the southeast coast of Vancouver Island. The quake struck at 11:39 p.m., with effects being felt as far as 150-miles away.

An natural disaster hit southern British Columbia just before midnight Tuesday, rattling buildings, shaking beds and swaying light fixtures.

The USGS website has recorded more than 10,000 reports of the quake being felt.

Despite no immediate reports of injuries or damage, residents in affected areas said they still felt the quake.

The U.S. Geological Survey reported a 4.8 magnitude quake centered a few miles north of Victoria on Vancouver Island. Numerous earthquakes are occurring in swarms in areas where injection wells pump salty wastewater – a byproduct of oil and gas production – deep into the earth.

One of the largest earthquakes more than a decade shook Victoria, B.C. and portions of Western Washington.

TransLink temporarily shut down the Millennium and Expo lines of the SkyTrain, but spokeswoman Anne Drennan said they, along with bus bridges, were reopened for one last run.

There was also a separate magnitude 4.4 quake on Sunday near San Bernardino, Calif.

The largest of the aftershocks has measured magnitude 3.8, but most were too small to be felt.

“Get out there and get those emergency preparedness kits ready”, she said.

A plan to reconnect with family and loved ones.