A total of six earthquakes were recorded off the coast of Vancouver Island on Monday.
According to the US Geological Service, the first earthquake registered at 8:44 am as a magnitude 5.2 event. A second magnitude 5.6 quake occurred at 11:13 am, and a third magnitude 6.0 event took place at 11:49 am.
A fourth quake, also magnitude 6.0, was reported at 12:56 pm.
Two final aftershocks took place, one at 3:38 (magnitude 4.8) and the final one being at 9:32 (magnitude 4.3).
Each seismic event occurred in the same area, near the fault line that divides the Explorer Plate and the North American Plate.
The first four quakes had a depth of 10 km, whereas the fifth and sixth quakes, according to Earthquakes Canada, had a depth of 5km and 8 km, respectively.
No tsunami warning was issued for any of the events.
Few earthquakes in BC have a magnitude of 3.0 or more
While thousands of earthquakes occur in British Columbia every year, only a small fraction of them have a magnitude of 3.0 and over.
On July 3, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck near the same area as the quakes that took place this morning.
In October 2018, an unusual trio of major earthquakes struck within the span of an hour with magnitudes of 6.5, 6.6, and 6.8 — all in the same area off the northern coast of Vancouver Island.
An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.0 and over is considered a seismic event with significant destructive potency, especially if it were to hit with a shallow depth near population centres.
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With files from Kenneth Chan.
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