NorthwestDecember 26, 2019

Christine Clarridge of the Seattle Times

A magnitude 6.2 earthquake was recorded off Vancouver Island in British Columbia on Tuesday, after five quakes in the area the day prior. The quakes struck off the northern tip of Vancouver Island, according to the government’s Earthquakes Canada website.

Tuesday’s quake struck around 7:30 p.m. There were no reports of damage, and none was expected. According to the website, the quakes recorded Monday around Vancouver Island were:

Magnitude 5.1 at 8:44 a.m.; magnitude 5.6 at 11:13 a.m.; magnitude 5.8 at 11:49 a.m.; magnitude 6.0 at 12:56 p.m.; magnitude 4.8 at 3:38 p.m.

It’s not uncommon for the area to see seismic activity, and the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network said the series of quakes does not have implications for the likelihood of a damaging earthquake from the Cascadia Subduction Zone, which could reach magnitude 9.0.

Seismologist Lucy Jones said the string of quakes is a “very common pattern,” especially at mid-oceanic ridges.

“In some locations, we see several slightly smaller quakes within a few days, instead of (a) bigger one with aftershocks,” Jones said in a tweet.

Last week, three small quakes were reported in Fall City in northeast King County within a 24-hour period.

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The first and largest of those was a 3.4 magnitude temblor recorded shortly after 7 p.m. Dec. 18, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

It’s a good time to make sure you’re prepared for an earthquake, scientists with the Seismology Lab at the University of California in Berkeley told KQED News. But there’s no need to panic.

Theoretically, small quakes boost the probability that another quake will follow, said Berkeley seismologist Roland Burgmann. But small quakes happen all the time, and many go unfelt.

According to Earthquake Track, 158 small quakes have been reported over the past year in Fall City alone, 25 of which have occurred in the past 30 days.

“Essentially, what that means for people is, whenever you feel an earthquake, that’s a good time to check on your earthquake kit,” Burgmann told KQED. “It shouldn’t be a cause for true alarm, but it should be a reason to reassess.”

The Puget Sound region is one of the most hazardous areas in the country for earthquakes, and the region is largely unprepared.

This story was corrected to clarify that the series of quakes occurred off Vancouver Island, as an earlier version of this story stated that some occurred off Victoria Island.

TNS

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