Magnitude 4.8 earthquake near Tofino, B.C., rattles houses

Vancouver Island residents reported houses rattling after an earthquake struck shortly after 6 p.m. PT Wednesday.

The 4.8 magnitude quake hit18 kilometres east-northeast ofTofino, B.C., at a depth of 24 kilometres.

A tsunami is not expected and there were no reports of damage.

Residents inCourtenay, Campbell River and Qualicum Beach reported beds shaking and dishes rattling in their cupboards.

"Staying in a log cabin in Tofinoand we thought a truck had hit something," tweeted one resident.

Hayes Bishop, who works at Middle Beach Lodge in Tofino, said the shaking lasted for about 20 seconds.

"I felt some vibrations and I looked up andI was able to see the window shaking," he said. "Yeah, you could definitely feel it."

"Quite a few of the guests came downstairs to ask if that was indeed an earthquake,and there is definitely some cause for concern because weare very close to the ocean here."

The quake was also felt in the Gulf Islands andas far away as the Lower Mainland,according to some reports.

Earthquake latest in a series

Wednesday's shaker is the latest in a series of recent quakes that have struck off the B.C. coast.

Last Friday and Saturday separate earthquakes with respective magnitudes of 5.2 and 4.5 struck 200 km off the coast of Port Hardy at the northern end of Vancouver Island.

A swarm of five earthquakes also struck west of Port Hardy further in late December, at depths ranging from 10 to 22 km.

According to the Geological Survey of Canada, these clusters are larger than normal, but not unusual, nor does it effectively increase the risk of the "big one."

CBC meteorologist Johanna WagstaffesaidWednesday night's quake likely occurred within the overriding North America plate.

The smaller quakes can sometimes be damaging because of the shallow depth, she said, even though the recent ones in the past month haven't fit that characterization.

Wagstaffe said the "big one," a damagingmegathrustearthquake, will occur within the Juan de Fucaplate which has become stuck trying to move under the North American plate.She said these are attwo very different locations.