Powerful earthquake strikes off BC's coast, several aftershocks reported

Wednesday, September 4, 2013, 7:24 AM -

A series of earthquakes struck an area off British Columbia's coast Tuesday, but they weren't large enough to cause damage or tsunami warnings, officials say. 

A magnitude 6.1 quake was the largest recorded and was centred almost 200 km off Bella Bella, on B.C.'s northern coast at 1:19 pm PT. 

EARTHQUAKE Mag=6.1 on 03 Sep at 13:19 PDT. Details : https://t.co/9V9PLhoKOj 211 km WSW of Bella Bella, BC 361 km SSW of Kitimat, BC

— Earthquakes Canada (@CANADAquakes) September 3, 2013

At least five aftershocks of magnitude 5.5 and lower followed, but no damage or injuries were reported. No tsunami was expected either. 

A seismologist with Natural Resources Canada says it's unlikely anyone even felt the quake because it happened so far off shore and the population in the area is sparse. 

NOAA initially rated the quake as a magnitude 6.2, but it was then downgraded to 6.0 by the USGS, while Natural Resources Canada rated it a magnitude 6.1 earthquake.

With files from The Canadian Press