Something went bump in the night on Haida Gwaii

Those that aren't sound sleepers may have noticed yet another shifting of the earth's plates overnight under Haida Gwaii, the USGS website is listing a 4.2 magnitude earthquake as having rumbled under the islands at 4:38 in the overnight period.

The epicentre of the latest temblor to roll through the region was to the southern tip of Haida Gwaii, some 291 kilometres south of Prince Rupert.

An earthquake listed at 4.2 is considered significant, but not likely to cause much in the way of damage. There have been few reports of any incidents of concern stemming from the overnight shifting.

The last significant quake to rumble under Haida Gwaii was on November 17, 2009 when Islanders felt the rolling from a 6.6 magnitude quake.

This most recent event has not been listed or reviewed on the Earthquake Canada website yet.

USGS Information site
Earthquakes Canada

4.3 temblor rattles along Charlottes

It's not the "Big one", but just another reminder that this part of the world sits on a couple of active fault lines, which occasionally shift and slip.

The Queen Charlottes were rattled by a "mild" 4.3 earthquake on Saturday afternoon, striking 10 miles below the surface to the west of Masset, at around 12:29 in the afternoon.

No damage or injuries has been reported and so far there have not been any more noticeable bursts of seismic activity in the area.

There are two sources to get earthquake information for our area, the Earthquakes Canada site and the USGS website which features a listing of all the seismic activity around the world in a very easy to follow list.

No tsunami warnings were issued for the incident which wasn't strong enough to warrant attention from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre.

If you’re waiting for the BIG ONE, your wait may soon be over!

It’s a rather unusual little warning that southwestern BC has been issued today, while we’re all used to living on the fault lines of the criss crossing plates and subduction zones of our part of the world, to actually be warned of impending doom is a rather stark reminder of our lot.

Today BC was put on a fourteen day watch, seismologists will be watching those little earthquake needles extra carefully for the next two weeks as BC enters a particularly dangerous phase along the Cascadia subduction zone.

It seems that every fourteen months or so the tremors and shifting is most intense below our surface, we’ve entered that window and will remain there for the next two weeks. If a major subduction quake were to hit, those watching the indicators suggest that it could rival the 2004 earthquake and tsunami of Boxing Day in Indonesia.

While they are quick to point out that there is most likely little chance of the cataclysmic big one coming our way (or there way I guess) still best warned is best prepared we suspect. They have taken to comparing the risk to driving in rush hour traffic, the experts suggest that there is a better chance of having an accident, but that doesn’t mean you will have one.

Regardless, the warning which has been taken to heart by the Vancouver media with comprehensive stories on the major television stations there, with the recommendation on how to prepare for an earthquake and how to keep those earthquake kits up to date.

If we escape the danger this time, we can look forward to a replay of it all in April of 2008, aware that we are now at a time when a mega thrust quake could occur; then again it could also be 100 years from now.

For those looking to track the shifting earth over the next two weeks, there is the Natural Resource Canada Earthquakes Canada website and the National Earthquake Centre at the US Geological Service in The USA. Earthquakes around the world are updated regularly with the magnitude, depth and other information all charted for us.

We can also of course track all the excitement on the web, here are some links to the story on the web tonight.

CTVNEWS.ca
CBC.ca
Globe and Mail
Canada.com
Global BC
CH TV video report