A 5.1-magnitude earthquake hit the south coast of B.C. Friday (Feb. 21).
Emergency Info BC posted to X that a 5.1-magnitude earthquake hit near Sechelt, on the Sunshine Coast, around 1:30 p.m. B.C. officials are monitoring the earthquake, the post adds.
Earthquakes Canada said it hit about 24 kilometres northeast of Sechelt, at a depth of one kilometre. It adds that there are no reports of damage at this time.
The U.S. National Weather Service says there is no tsunami advisory, watch or threat.
Some people in B.C. received alerts to their cellphones from Natural Resources Canada that an earthquake was detected.
Trent Richardson and his son McCarthy were sitting in the living room of their rental in Port Alberni when McCarthy鈥檚 phone started buzzing. 鈥淓arthquake detected! Drop, Cover and Hold on. Protect yourself,鈥� was the alert from Natural Resources Canada.
鈥淗e said hey, there鈥檚 an emergency warning. I鈥檇 say less than 10 seconds later the walls started shaking,鈥� Richardson said.
McCarthy is a member of the Alberni Valley Bulldogs in the B.C. Hockey League and Richardson is living with him in Port Alberni while his son plays with the Jr. A team.
鈥淭his was new,鈥� he said. Neither of them had experienced an earthquake before now.
Two people who came into the Alberni Valley News office said neither of them felt the earthquake because they were driving.
Employees at Houle Printing said they could feel the ground shake through the concrete floor and the lights in their press room were swinging 鈥渓ike pendulums.鈥�
Meanwhile messages started coming through on Port Alberni social media pages that people felt the earthquake from Vancouver Island University in Nanaimo, and even an office building in Burnaby.
More to come.
鈥� With files from Susan Quinn
