In the dark hours of a Saturday morning, just after one o'clock Pacific time on the final days of 2022, the ground moved beneath the northern coast of British Columbia. A modest magnitude 4.7 tremor, shallow and centred some 38 kilometres east-southeast of Masset, was felt faintly across the communities of Haida Gwaii, most of them still asleep. Nothing broke, and no wave rose from the sea, so the event passes into the record as a small reminder that this restless coast is always settling its accounts with the earth beneath it.
Magnitude 4.7 Quake Lightly Felt Across Haida Gwaii; No Damage Reported
The ground shifted beneath the north coast of British Columbia at 1 a.m.
Mark
So what actually happened on Saturday morning?
Mimi
A magnitude 4.7 earthquake hit at 1 a.m. Pacific time, about 38 kilometres east-southeast of Masset, at a depth of 10 kilometres.
Mark
Who felt it?
Mimi
Earthquakes Canada says it was lightly felt in Haida Gwaii, Masset, Port Clements and Skidegate.
Luke
Worth noting that "lightly felt" is the agency's summary. We don't have any resident accounts here.
Mark
And damage?
Mimi
None reported, and no tsunami is expected.
Luke
Careful with "none reported." It means nothing had come in when the report was written, not that a full check was done. At 1 a.m. in small communities, reports may trickle in later.
Mark
Why does the depth matter?
Mimi
It's given as 10 km, which is shallow. The source doesn't say more about what that implies, though.
Luke
Right, so I wouldn't read much into it. The source doesn't mention aftershocks or earlier activity either, so we can't say whether this is part of a pattern.
Mark
So what should a reader take from it?
Mimi
That it was a small event with a clear location, a clear time, and no reported harm so far.
Luke
And that updates from Earthquakes Canada are the thing to check, since this report is short.
Der Puls
- A shallow magnitude 4.7 quake jolted awake the northern Haida Gwaii archipelago at 1 a.m. Pacific time.
- The tremor, centred 38 kilometres east-southeast of Masset at only 10 kilometres deep, was felt across Masset, Port Clements and Skidegate.
- Earthquakes Canada has logged no damage reports, leaving residents with a jolt but no broken homes or disrupted lives.
- The agency has ruled out a tsunami, so the threat of escalation has been firmly closed off.
- Attention now turns to any revised measurements or aftershock reports from Earthquakes Canada.
In the dark hours of a Saturday morning, just after one o'clock Pacific time on the final days of 2022, the ground moved beneath the northern coast of British Columbia. A modest magnitude 4.7 tremor, shallow and centred some 38 kilometres east-southeast of Masset, was felt faintly across the communities of Haida Gwaii, most of them still asleep. Nothing broke, and no wave rose from the sea, so the event passes into the record as a small reminder that this restless coast is always settling its accounts with the earth beneath it.
At 1 a.m. Pacific time on Saturday, December 24, 2022, the ground shifted beneath the north coast of British Columbia. Earthquakes Canada recorded a magnitude 4.7 quake, the kind of minor event the agency classes as routine, and it struck while most people in the region slept.
The epicentre sat 38 kilometres east-southeast of Masset, on the northern end of Haida Gwaii, at a shallow depth of 10 kilometres. The tremor was lightly felt across the islands, reaching Masset, Port Clements and Skidegate, spread over a wide stretch of the archipelago without being strong anywhere in particular.
The agency reported no damage. Its statement offered no further accounts of rattled homes, disrupted power or roads, so the quiet of the reports is itself the story. Earthquakes Canada also said no tsunami is expected, which closes off the most serious concern for a quake in this part of the coast.
The brief report, first published by The Canadian Press, carries no further figures. Any follow-up from the agency, such as revised measurements or aftershock reports, is what to watch for next, though nothing so far suggests this will grow beyond a light, early-morning jolt.
At 1 a.m. Pacific time on Saturday, Dec. 24, 2022, the ground shifted beneath the north coast of British Columbia. Earthquakes Canada recorded a magnitude 4.7 quake, the kind of event the agency classes as minor, and it arrived in the dark hours of the morning when most people in the region were asleep.
The agency placed the epicentre 38 kilometres east-southeast of Masset, a community on the northern end of Haida Gwaii. The rupture was shallow by the agency's measure, at a depth of 10 kilometres.
The shaking was reported as light. Earthquakes Canada said the quake was lightly felt in Haida Gwaii generally, as well as in Masset, Port Clements and Skidegate. Those communities are spread along the islands, so the tremor was noticed over a wide stretch of the archipelago, though not strongly in any one place.
The agency said it had received no reports of damage. That is a statement about reports received at the time, and the source offers no detail beyond it: no accounts of rattled homes, no word of power or road disruptions, and no description of what residents experienced.
The agency also said no tsunami is expected. That matters in any offshore or near-coast quake in this part of the country, and in this case it closes off the most worrying possibility. The epicentre lay east-southeast of Masset, and the agency gave no sign of a secondary hazard.
The report, first published by The Canadian Press on Dec. 24, 2022, is brief and carries no further figures. What to watch for next is any update from Earthquakes Canada, such as revised measurements or reports of aftershocks, though nothing in the current reporting suggests the event will grow beyond a light, early-morning jolt.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
The quake was lightly felt in Haida Gwaii, Masset, Port Clements and Skidegate, with no reports of damage and no tsunami expected.— Earthquakes Canada, as reported by The Canadian Press
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