Lower Mainland Weather Central

[mr.x]

another one today:


Strong 6.1-magnitude earthquake strikes near Queen Charlottes
CanWest News Service
Published: Wednesday, January 09, 2008

A large, 6.1 magnitude earthquake rumbled off coast of the Queen Charlotte Islands Wednesday.

The earthquake occurred in the Pacific Ocean around 6:40 a.m. local time, about 180 kilometres south of Queen Charlotte City.

"It wouldn't be surprising if we got one or two reports of minor shaking," Stephane Mazzotti, a seismologist with the Geological Survey of Canada said Wednesday.

"There wasn't any damage because the earthquake was . . . too far away from any populated place for that."

This was the third earthquake to hit the island region in the past five days.

On Saturday, two earthquakes both measuring in at 6.5 magnitude occurred an hour apart, about 50 kilometers south of Wednesday's earthquake.

Mazzotti said earthquakes are common in the area because it is a "triple junction," a place where three large tectonic plates intersect.

"These plates grind past each other creating a hot spot for earthquakes," he said. "We have earthquakes there all the time. It's a routine event."

Despite the strength of this recent earthquake, an expert said it was not strong enough to trigger a tsunami.

"It was a large earthquake and if it happened on land, it would've been capable of destroying buildings," said Bill Knight, a spokesman with the West Coast Alaska Tsunami Warning Center.

"But from a tsunami perspective, it was not large enough to produce a tsunami."

Usually, a tsunami would only be triggered by an earthquake with a magnitude of seven or higher. Knight said another risk factor is that smaller earthquakes - those within the mid-sixes range - can cause landslides or avalanches that can trigger a tsunami.

B.C.'s largest threat for a tsunami would be a ripple effect if a large enough earthquake were to hit Alaska's remote Aleutian Islands, he added.

If that happened, it would take three to three-and-half hours for the tsunami to reach Canadian soil. The strongest rumble felt in the region was in 1949, with experts recording an earthquake at 8.1 magnitude.

[SpongeG]

yikes

[204]

The earthquake today was the 6th one in that area since Saturday and the third one over 6 magnitude.

IRIS Seismic Monitor

[mr.x]

so....are we getting a new volcano? or is it that dreaded Big One that's coming? or will it be nothing?

[bils]

Originally Posted by 204

T

IRIS Seismic Monitor

looks like another biggie hit off the coast of oregon sometime this afternoon

[SpongeG]

yah i just heard that

they are getting closer

[bils]

err, why's it snowing in richmond?

[cornholio]

Magnitude 6.4 quake off Oregon coast
Reuters
Published: Wednesday, January 09, 2008

WASHINGTON - A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the central Oregon coast at 8:37 p.m. EST tonight, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.

The temblor was located about 240 kilometres west-northwest of Barview, Oregon, at a depth of 9.98 kilometres, the USGS said.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said no current warning or advisory was in effect following the quake.

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Lanny Boston, the fire chief in Bandon, Ore., also 240 kilometres from the site of the quake off the Oregon coast, said he had not felt the quake and had received no reports of damage.

Something is definitely going on, though i wonder if its decreasing the odds of the big one right now or increasing them.. I guess no one really knows the answer for sure.

[SpongeG]

Originally Posted by bils

err, why's it snowing in richmond?

the lower mainland was suppossed to get 5-10cm overnight - same for thursday

[SpongeG]

whats going on out therE?

the radio makes it sound like downtown is in a hurricane is iT?

they said Robson street is shut down

intersections are chaos without lights and power out all over the place?

is it really like that?

its calm out here in burnaby

weird

[mr.x]

it's really windy out here at UBC.

[SpongeG]

we lost power for about 1 minute out here an hour or so ago

its crazy windy outside now - and its freezing cold

[mr.x]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

we lost power for about 1 minute out here an hour or so ago

its crazy windy outside now - and its freezing cold

there's a windchill of -5c.

[Canadian Mind]

Not that cold. Nows the time to go out and grow some thicker skin.

[SpongeG]

i haven't felt cold that cold since living in ontario or northern BC

ick

when i lived up north we laughed at lower mainlanders who said 1c was cold

now i am one - lol

[Canadian Mind]

i've never really lost my temperment for cold since moving here from Alberta. -20 Still doesn't faze me, although I am getting kinda scared of -30 to -40 again.

Actually, the worst for me is between -5 and +5, because the air is still moist, and then the wind blows, and it sucks the heat right out of me. It its between 0 and -5 for a week, or lower than -10, then most the moisture disappears, and I can walk around in a t-shirt again.

[mr.x]

All that talk about the Prince George ice jams, have they ever thought about using explosives? -_-

[Lead]

Yea I read somewhere awhile ago that they were considering using explosives, ice breakers, or pumping in hot water to free up the ice on the river.

[mr.x]

Originally Posted by Lead

Yea I read somewhere awhile ago that they were considering using explosives, ice breakers, or pumping in hot water to free up the ice on the river.

Too much talk, not enough action...

[SpongeG]

the problem was the fraser was frozen up so the nechako would have no where to go