Sensors detected a 4.5 magnitude earthquake striking approximately 45 kilometres south east of Ucluelet on Friday afternoon. (Earthquakes Canada)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

SURPRISE SHAKER

Minor earthquake near Ucluelet felt through Nanaimo, Vancouver

Jan 24, 2020 | 6:01 AM

NANAIMO — Several residents in Nanaimo reported minor shaking and rolling Friday afternoon as a minor earthquake struck off the west coast of Vancouver Island.

Earthquakes Canada said the magnitude 4.4 quake occurred approximately 45 kilometres southeast of Ucluelet at 1:35 p.m.

The agency estimated the depth of the quake at 38 kilometers, sending minor tremors across the Island and lower mainland.

Earthquakes Canada said the shaker was “lightly felt around Vancouver Island. There are no reports of damage, and none would be expected. No tsunami expected.”

Several people reached out to NanaimoNewsNOW to report they felt the quake, including Steve Langford, who was in his home office in Cinnabar Valley when the quake hit.

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“My whole desk was shaking, it was pretty major. I’m like ‘What the heck is going on.’ Then I thought its got to be an earthquake,” Langford said.

Maryetta Cowans was having a relaxing afternoon in the fourth floor of her Nanaimo condo on Uplands Dr.

“We were just reading some stuff online, my husband and I, and all of a sudden our chairs started swaying left to right and the floor started moving.”

Cowans described the movement as a rolling sensation for a little under a minute.

Earthquakes Canada seismologist John Cassidy told NanaimoNewsNOW it has been several years since a quake of this strength has hit so close to populated areas of the province’s south coast.

“It was only about 20-25 kilometers off-shore, it was relatively close to Bamfield and Ucluelet,” Cassidy said. “It was felt across Vancouver Island and event felt on Lower Mainland.”

Cassidy said a series of much stronger earthquakes were reported in November and December, but noted those transpired well off the north end of Vancouver Island and weren’t widely felt.

Cassidy said this is the latest example of the North American plate beneath us pushing over the Juan de Fuca plate to the south.

Both plates are moving 4 to 5 centimeters a year, Cassidy said.

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