VANCOUVER -- A 1.9 magnitude earthquake was lightly felt in the Fraser Valley, Earthquakes Canada is reporting.
The quake hit at 9:22 a.m. Saturday around 15 kilometres north-east of Chilliwack, and 40 kilometres north-east of Abbotsford. Earthquakes Canada says the quake originated at a depth of three kilometres.
There are no reports of damage, and none would be expected, says Earthquakes Canada.
Alison Bird, a seismologist with the Geological Survey of Canada, said that while the earthquake was on the small side, the location of the quake meant that people were more likely to feel it.
"Because it was shallow and very close to Agassiz, and people there are on fairly soft ground, they're more likely to feel it," she told CTV News.
The earthquake follows several other earthquakes detected around the B.C. coast recently, although this one was much lower magnitude.
On Friday, Jan. 24, a 4.5 magnitude earthquake was second one with a magnitude higher than 4.0 recorded in B.C. in 2020. On Jan. 8, a quake of magnitude 4.8 was recorded off the Vancouver Island coast, but was not felt by anyone, according to Earthquakes Canada.
A sequence of eight earthquakes, ranging in magnitude from 3.6 to 6.2, were recorded in an area of the Pacific Ocean roughly 100 kilometres west of Vancouver Island between Dec. 23 and Dec. 25. None of those quakes were felt, either.
Bird said the number of quakes is not at all unusual: Natural Resources Canada locates around 900 earthquakes a year in southwestern B.C., and there are many smaller earthquakes that can't be located.
When people do feel minor shaking from a small earthquake, Bird said, it's a good reminder to British Columbians to prepare for a major earthquake by creating an emergency preparedness kit, and practicing "drop, cover and hold on."
With files from CTV News Vancouver's Ian Holliday.
