An earthquake of 1.9 magnitude has been detected in the Fraser Valley – the latest tremor report in a string of incidents that began in late December.
According to Earthquakes Canada, the quake hit at 9:22am on January 25, 2020, occurring somewhere 40km northeast of Abbotsford; the tremor originated at a depth of three kilometres.
Earthquakes Canada also noted that there were no reports of damage from the tremor, and that none are expected.
While the earthquake was of a low magnitude, the shaking was still felt due to its proximity to a populated area.
“Because it was shallow and very close to Agassiz, and people there are on fairly soft ground, they’re more likely to feel it,” Geological Survey of Canada seismologist Alison Bird told CTV News.
Several other earthquakes have been detected around the BC coast since late December. On January 24, 2020, a 4.5 magnitude tremor was recorded, while on January 08, 2020 a 4.8 magnitude quake was reported – but was not felt by anyone. In the period between December 23 and December 25, 2019, earthquakes ranging in magnitude from 3.6 to 6.2 were recorded some 100km off the west coast of Vancouver Island – these, too, were not felt.
Bird told CTV News that the high number of earthquakes detected in succession is not at all unusual, since Natural Resources Canada finds about 900 earthquakes a year in southwestern BC. There are also many other smaller earthquakes that cannot be located, the seismologist added.
