Quake triggered tsunami warning but was later cancelled

Earthquake

A powerful M7.7 earthquake off Canada’s British Columbia coast on Saturday evening triggered a tsunami warning but caused little damage, according to catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide.

At least 10 aftershocks have been recorded, the largest of which was M6.3.

AIR said: “Given that yesterday’s earthquake occurred in a sparsely populated stretch of the Canadian coast, significant insured losses are not expected.”

The quake also triggered tsunami warnings from the Washington border to Vancouver Island and as far away as Hawaii. At least 100,000 fled to higher ground along Hawaii’s coast late on Saturday but the evacuation order was later cancelled.  A wave of five feet has been recorded near Maui.

Buildings near the epicentre shook for about 40 seconds, but little damage has been reported.