Magnitude 7.7 Quake Strikes Queen Charlotte Islands, Canada

Earthquake Measuring 7.7 Mw Strikes Queen Charlotte Islands Region generating a tsunami

FIRE-EARTH Forecast: Mega Quake measuring at least 8.8Mw could strike the region in the coming weeks with a probability of 0.75.

The powerful quake struck off Canada’s Pacific coast at a depth of about 16 km generating a tsunami, which forced  the authorities in Hawaii to order more than 100,000 people evacuate the shorelines.

• Dozens of aftershocks, including at least 10 shocks measuring ≥5.0Mw had occurred, as of posting.

• A Geophysicist at Tsunami Warning Center said the tsunami had caught scientists by surprise, Reuters reported.

• “We thought that the earthquake was on land and when we learned that it was deeper undersea and we gathered more information, we had no choice but to issue a warning,” he said.

Quake Details

Region: Queen Charlotte Islands
Time: 2012-10-28 03:04:09.7 UTC
Magnitude: 7.7 (Mw)
Epicenter: 52.59°N, 132.19°W
Depth: 16 km
Source: GEOFON

EQ Location Map. Source: GEOFON © Helmholtz Centre Potsdam GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences

The Largest Earthquake in Canada

Canada’s largest earthquake (magnitude 8.1) since 1700, occurred on August 22, 1949 off the coast of BC. It occurred on the Queen Charlotte Fault (Canada’s equivalent of the San Andreas Fault) – the boundary between the Pacific and North American plates that runs underwater along the west coast of the Queen Charlotte Islands off the west coast of British Columbia. The shaking was so severe on the Queen Charlotte Islands that cows were knocked off their feet, and a geologist with the Geological Survey of Canada working on the north end of Graham Island could not stand up. Chimneys toppled, and an oil tank at Cumshewa Inlet collapsed. In Terrace, on the adjacent mainland, cars were bounced around, and standing on the street was described as “like being on the heaving deck of a ship at sea”. In Prince Rupert, windows were shattered and buildings swayed. —Natural resources of Canada

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• California Earthquake Forecast – Update 3
• Alaska Earthquake Forecast: Update 3

• Powerful Quake Strikes Queen Charlotte Islands Region Posted November 18, 2009