PORT McNEILL—A magnitude 6.7 earthquake centred 25 miles southwest of Port Alice startled North Vancouver Island residents shortly after 8 p.m. Wednesday, but it was not expected to generate appreciable tsunami activity, the West Coast-Alaska Tsunami Warning Centre announced.
The quake struck at 8:10 p.m., and was followed by a pair of aftershocks in the same area, a magnitude 5.0 quake at approximately 8:20 p.m. and a magnitude 4.2 aftershock at 8:41 p.m.
The initial quake was felt by residents across the North Island, including Port Alice, Port Hardy and Port McNeill.
Nearly 50 people were gathered in the North Island Secondary School multi-purpose room for the community strategic planning workshop when the first quake struck and jolted them from their chairs as suspended fluorescent light fixtures began swaying gently overhead.
A gentle wave-type swaying of the building continued for perhaps 15 seconds.
Attendees filed out to the school lawn for a couple of minutes before returning inside to resume the workshop.
"You could say we had all the town's movers and shakers here tonight," Annemarie Koch said.
Neither of the subsequent aftershocks were noted by participants in the workshop.
The quake struck at a depth of 14.3 miles off the West Coast of the Island.