Magnitude 5.0 earthquake recorded off west coast of Vancouver Island

Friday, July 26, 2013, 12:56 PM -

Natural Resources Canada says a magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck near Port Hardy, BC at 5:57 PDT Friday morning.

NRC originally picked up an automatic detection of 4.4.

Automatic detection of seismic event: magnitude 4.4 - 26 Jul 5:57 PDT - PORT HARDY, BC region

— Earthquakes Canada (@CANADAquakes) July 26, 2013

The quake was centred under the Pacific Ocean, about 170 km west of Port Hardy. 

The West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Centre says the quake was not strong enough to generate a dangerous wave.

The shaker occurred in a region where earthquakes are common because of the movement of several plates of the earth's crust.

Natural Resources Canada says more than 100 magnitude 5.0 earthquakes or stronger have occurred off British Columbia in the last 70 years, including the magnitude 7.7 quake, the second strongest ever recorded in Canada, that jolted the west coast of Haida Gwaii last October.

With files from The Canadian Press