7.7 earthquake hits Canada, Hawaii lifts Tsunami warning
29 Oct 2012 2:19 AM GMT
US authorities have cancelled a tsunami warning for Hawaii hours after a 7.7 earthquake in Canada’s Charlotte Islands sent some residents scrambling to higher land as they prepared for a fierce impact of waves from thousands of miles away.
The quake’s epicentre, with a depth of 17.5 km, was 202 km southwest of Prince Rupert in Canada’s British Columbia province.
According to government agency Natural Resources Canada, the quake hit 69 km west-southwest of Queen Charlotte City at 0304 GMT.
The quake was felt across much of north-central British Colombia, said the agency, which measured the quake at 7.1 magnitude.
Queen Charlotte Islands, now known as Haida Gwaii, consist of two main islands. The sparsely populated area is home to nearly 4,000 people.
The temblor triggered a tsunami that was heading toward Hawaii, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said.
The tsunami wave was expected to reach Hawaii at 10.28 p.m. Saturday (0828 GMT Sunday), the Hawaii-based the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said.
But the tsunami warning was replaced later in Hawaii by a tsunami advisory indicating that strong currents or waves that are dangerous to those in or very near the water are expected, but significant inundation is not, CNN reported.
Earlier, local television showed images of bumper-to-bumper traffic on roads leading from the coast to higher ground. Countless Halloween parties were interrupted, restaurants and bars emptied, and highways quickly filled with cars heading away from beach areas.
About 80,000 people live in evacuation zones on the island of Oahu, where Honolulu is located.
The first waves to hit Honolulu didn’t seem much stronger than usual. But scientists warned people not to be fooled by the initial waves, which often aren’t the biggest.
‘It’s not just one wave, it’s a succession of waves,’ Gerard Fryer, senior geophysicist at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, was quoted as saying by CNN.
‘A (magnitude) 7.7 is a big, hefty earthquake – not something you can ignore,’ he said. ‘It definitely would have done some damage if it had been under a city.’
Instead, the quake struck about 139 km (86 miles) south of Masset on British Columbia’s Queen Charlotte Islands of Canada. No major damage was reported.
The Alaska Tsunami Warning Center issued a warning for western British Columbia from Vancouver to the southern panhandle of Alaska.
The quake’s epicentre, with a depth of 17.5 km, was 202 km southwest of Prince Rupert in Canada’s British Columbia province.
According to government agency Natural Resources Canada, the quake hit 69 km west-southwest of Queen Charlotte City at 0304 GMT.
The quake was felt across much of north-central British Colombia, said the agency, which measured the quake at 7.1 magnitude.
Queen Charlotte Islands, now known as Haida Gwaii, consist of two main islands. The sparsely populated area is home to nearly 4,000 people.
The temblor triggered a tsunami that was heading toward Hawaii, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said.
The tsunami wave was expected to reach Hawaii at 10.28 p.m. Saturday (0828 GMT Sunday), the Hawaii-based the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said.
But the tsunami warning was replaced later in Hawaii by a tsunami advisory indicating that strong currents or waves that are dangerous to those in or very near the water are expected, but significant inundation is not, CNN reported.
Earlier, local television showed images of bumper-to-bumper traffic on roads leading from the coast to higher ground. Countless Halloween parties were interrupted, restaurants and bars emptied, and highways quickly filled with cars heading away from beach areas.
About 80,000 people live in evacuation zones on the island of Oahu, where Honolulu is located.
The first waves to hit Honolulu didn’t seem much stronger than usual. But scientists warned people not to be fooled by the initial waves, which often aren’t the biggest.
‘It’s not just one wave, it’s a succession of waves,’ Gerard Fryer, senior geophysicist at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, was quoted as saying by CNN.
‘A (magnitude) 7.7 is a big, hefty earthquake – not something you can ignore,’ he said. ‘It definitely would have done some damage if it had been under a city.’
Instead, the quake struck about 139 km (86 miles) south of Masset on British Columbia’s Queen Charlotte Islands of Canada. No major damage was reported.
The Alaska Tsunami Warning Center issued a warning for western British Columbia from Vancouver to the southern panhandle of Alaska.
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