On Thursday Morning a Shallow M6.4 Earthquake struck in the North Pacific Ocean 398km from Victoria (Canada).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on July 11th, 2024. Last updated September 7th, 2024.

A shallow and strong MAG-6.4 earthquake struck in the North Pacific Ocean 398 kilometer from Victoria, Canada in the morning of Thursday July 11th, 2024. The USGS has indicated there is a potential risk at tsunami's following this earthquake.

Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the North Pacific Ocean, 180 kilometers (112 mi) off the coast of Canada, 398 kilometer west of Victoria in British Columbia. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 10 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Jul 11, 2024 08:08 (Vancouver Time) - Jul 11, 2024 15:08 Universal Time.
Location:	398 km west of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Coordinates 48°43'52"N 128°44'60"W.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 6.4 Detected by 13 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.2 .
Depth:	10 km (6 mi) A very shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	V Moderate On the Modified Mercalli Scale.
Tsunami Risk:	Potential tsunami risk The USGS has indicated there is a potential risk at tsunami's following this earthquake. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Potential tsunami risk

DISCLAIMER: We strongly suggest to closely monitor advice from local authorities with regards to tsunami risks. Our analysis is based on automatically collected data from external sources, and these might contain mistakes. In addition, earthquakes can cause landslides that may lead to a tsunami, or be a followed by another, potentially stonger, earthquake.

There is a potential tsunami risk in the aftermath of this earthquake, immediately evacuate to higher grounds away from coastal areas and monitor advice from local authorities. The US Geographic Survey organization has indicated a potential risk for tsunami's following this earthquake.

Tsunami Risk Factors

Factor	Under Sea?	MAG-6.5 or stronger?	Shallow depth?
Explanation	Almost all tsunami's are caused by earthquakes with their epicenter under sea or very near the sea. However stay cautious in coastal areas as earthquakes on land may cause landslides into sea, potentially still causing a local tsunami.	Under MAG 6.5: Very unlikely to cause a tsunami. MAG 6.5 to 7.5: Destructive tsunami's do occur, but are uncommon. Likely to observe small sea level changes. MAG 7.6+: Earthquakes with these magnitudes might produce destructive tsunami's.	Most destructive tsunami's are caused by shallow earthquakes with a depth between 0 and 100km under the surface of the earth. Deeper tsunami's are unlikely to displace to ocean floor.
This Earthquake	This earthquake appears to have struck under the sea.	Not this earthquake. This earthquake had a magnitude of 6.4. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami.	This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 10 km (6 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami.

Minimal impact predicted

Based on scientific estimates by the US Geographic Survey (USGS), the risk of high fatalities for this earthquake is classified at level GREEN (low). They expect an 69% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 fatalities, and a 98% chance that the number of fatalities falls no higher than 10.

The USGS classifies the economic impact of this earthquake at level GREEN (low). They expect an 65% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact, and a 96% chance that the economic impact of this earthquake falls no higher than 10 million USD.

Roughly 10 thousand people exposed to shaking

The USGS has published a report estimating the number of people exposed to this earthquake. Acoording to their analysis, roughly 10 thousand have been exposed to shaking at an MMI level of II or higher.

The highest earthquake impact level for this earthquake is IV, which corresponds with light shaking and likely no damage. Roughly 5,410 people are expected to be exposed to this level. Intensity level III was experienced by the majority of people (around 7 thousand). In their region, weak shaking and probably no damage can be expected. All exposure to shaking was within the borders of Canada .

People	MMI Level	Shaking	Damage
0	I	Not noticable	None
0	II	Very weak	None
6,990	III	Weak	Probably none
5,410	IV	Light	Likely none
0	V	Moderate	Very light
0	VI	Strong	Light
0	VII	Very Strong	Moderate
0	VIII	Severe	Moderate to heavy
0	IX	Violent	Heavy
0	X	Extreme	Very heavy

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake may have been felt in Canada . Located 225 kilometer (140 mi) southwest of the epicenter of this earthquake, Vernon Lake (British Columbia, Canada) is the nearest significant population center. The intensity of shaking and damage in Vernon Lake is estimated to be around level IV on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (light shaking, likely no damage).

An overview of nearby towns and cities is available in the overview below. If places don't have intensity data available, it likely means the experienced impact in those places was fairly small.

Overview of nearby places

Cities and Towns around the epicenter of this earthquake.
Distance	Place	Intensity (MMI)
225 km (140 mi) NE from epicenter	Vernon Lake British Columbia, Canada.	IV Light
291 km (181 mi) ENE from epicenter	Campbell River British Columbia, Canada.
293 km (182 mi) ENE from epicenter	Courtenay British Columbia, Canada.
294 km (183 mi) ENE from epicenter	Port Alberni British Columbia, Canada.
354 km (220 mi) E from epicenter	Nanaimo British Columbia, Canada.
370 km (230 mi) E from epicenter	Duncan British Columbia, Canada.
371 km (231 mi) E from epicenter	North Cowichan British Columbia, Canada.
387 km (240 mi) E from epicenter	Langford British Columbia, Canada.
389 km (242 mi) E from epicenter	Colwood British Columbia, Canada.
394 km (245 mi) E from epicenter	Esquimalt British Columbia, Canada.
398 km (247 mi) E from epicenter	Victoria British Columbia, Canada.
247 mi (398 km) E from epicenter	Port Angeles Washington, The United States.

Earthquake Intensity Map

The maximum intensity (MMI Scale) caused by this earthquake is IV. The map below shows in which areas this earthquake was the most and least impactful. It is based on data from the US Geographic Survey.

I Not felt

II Weak

III Weak

IV Light

V Moderate

VI Strong

VII Very Strong

VIII Severe

IX Violent

X Extreme

Earthquake Intensity Map based on Shakemap Data provided by USGS.

Shaking reported by 25 people

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 25 people have reported shaking in 14 places, all within Canada.We keep updating this article as more ground reports become available. You may report that you felt this earthquake here.

Places with most reports:

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada: 4 people.
Ucluelet, British Columbia, Canada: 4 people.
Parksville, British Columbia, Canada: 3 people.
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada: 3 people.
Walnut Grove, British Columbia, Canada: 2 people.
Sidney, British Columbia, Canada: 1 person.
Courtenay, British Columbia, Canada: 1 person.
Gold River, British Columbia, Canada: 1 person.
Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada: 1 person.
Port Alberni, British Columbia, Canada: 1 person.

7 Aftershocks detected

This main shock was followed by 7 smaller aftershocks. Just 1 hr after this main shock, an earthquake measuring MAG-5.2 was detected 29 km (18 mi) north-east of this earthquake.

Before this earthquake struck, 2 smaller foreshocks occurred. Nearby this earthquake a foreshock struck 3 days earlier. It measured a magnitude of 4.5

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

Detected MAG2.5+ earthquakes within within 100km (62 mi), that occurred in the three days before and after the main shock.
Classification	Magnitude	When	Where
Foreshock	M 4.4	3 days earlier Jul 8, 2024 10:05 (Vancouver Time)	13 km (8 mi) SW from Main Shock.
Foreshock	M 4.5	3 days earlier Jul 8, 2024 10:06 (Vancouver Time)	39 km (24 mi) ENE from Main Shock.
Main Shock This Earthquake	M 6.4	Jul 11, 2024 08:08 (Vancouver Time)	-
Aftershock	M 4.5	9 mins later Jul 11, 2024 08:17 (Vancouver Time)	8 km (5 mi) N from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 4.2	27 mins later Jul 11, 2024 08:35 (Vancouver Time)	22 km (14 mi) N from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 5.2	1 hr later Jul 11, 2024 09:17 (Vancouver Time)	29 km (18 mi) NE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 4.7	2 hrs later Jul 11, 2024 10:34 (Vancouver Time)	6 km (4 mi) NE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 4.8	17 hrs later Jul 12, 2024 01:20 (Vancouver Time)	44 km (28 mi) NE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 4.4	2 days later Jul 13, 2024 19:25 (Vancouver Time)	19 km (12 mi) N from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 4.3	2 days later Jul 13, 2024 19:25 (Vancouver Time)	46 km (29 mi) NE from Main Shock.

More earthquakes coming?

The risk of aftershocks decreases rapidly over time. Usually, aftershocks are at least one order of magnitude lower than a main shock.

The chance that a significant earthquake like this one is followed by an even larger earthquake is not so large. On average, scientists estimate a 94% chance that a major earthquake will not be followed by an even larger one. It is still adviced to be aware of this risk

Read: How to Stay Safe during an Earthquake (cdc.gov).

This is the strongest earthquake in 6 years

Earthquakes of this strength occur quite regularly in the region. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since October 22nd, 2018, when a 6.5 magnitude earthquake hit 95 km (59 mi) further northwest. An even stronger magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck on October 22nd, 2018.

In total, 3 earthquakes with a magnitude of 6.4 or higher have been registered within 300km (186 mi) of this epicenter in the past 10 years. This comes down to an average of once every 3 years.

Sources

Last updated 07/09/24 07:38 (). This article is automatically generated based on available data. We keep checking multiple sources for additional information. This article gets updated as new details on this earthquake become available.