Thousands of people along the Island and coast felt an earthquake this afternoon, which was centred on the mainland between Sechelt and Gibsons.
Earthquakes Canada says the quake happened at 1:26 pm on Friday and initially said it measured as magnitude 5.1, but has reclassified it as 4.7. So far nearly 7,000 people and counting have reported they felt it, including Vista Radio’s own Keith VanBrabant, who lives on the Sunshine Coast.
“I live on kind of a remote road, and thought there was a very big truck going by, and went to go look at the window and realized the dog alerted me there was something else going on. We made our way outside and about the time we got outside, it was over,” he said. “I’ve lived on my coast my entire life and don’t recall an earthquake that large. I mean, we’ve had small shakers in the past but usually the epicentre is somewhere else. To have the epicentre on the Sunshine Coast today, that’s a little jarring.”
The US Tsunami Warning System has not issued any tsunami alerts, and none are expected. No damage or injuries have been reported yet from the quake.
Meanwhile close to the source, the earthquake shook things up at the Sechelt Fire Department but caused no damage.
Matt Gilroy, Deputy Fire Chief for Operations, says some objects were knocked over in a display case at the fire hall.
Gilroy says have been no calls for assistance from the public and no reports of damage received by the fire department.
He says that in case of earthquakes, people should always be prepared to be on their own for 72-hours should there be a quake large enough to cause infrastructure damage.
The Sunshine Coast School District says all schools followed established earthquake procedures.
The students and staff are safe and have gone back into their schools for the rest of the day and all buses are running for pick-up as usual.
