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December 17: Sunday afternoon earthquake in BC

earthquake, map, december 2023
Earthquake at a depth of 10 km near Pemberton, BC on Dec 17, 2023. [Natural Resources Canada]
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Sunday December 17, 2023 | VICTORIA, BC [Updated 6:25 pm]

by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends


An earthquake at a depth of 10 km and at 4.9 Magnitude was recorded as happening at 3:23 pm Pacific Standard Time (PST) this afternoon, Sunday, December 17, 2023.

The quake location was 137 km WNW of Pemberton / 138 km NE of Campbell River, according to Emergency Info BC.

The quake was felt on northern and central Vancouver Island, the Sunshine Coast and many parts of Greater Vancouver, according to Natural Resources Canada.

earthquake, map, december 2023
Earthquake at a depth of 10 km near Pemberton, BC on Dec 17, 2023. [Natural Resources Canada]

There are no reports of major damage or injuries and none are expected. No tsunami was expected.

Details from the NRC website:

Local Time:15:23:16 PST
Magnitude:4.9 ML
Latitude:51.1 North
Longitude:124.3 West
Depth:10 km
UT Date
and Time:
2023/12/17
23:23:16 UT

Did you feel it?

Some people were posting ‘did you feel it’ in social media.

If you felt the December 17, 2023 quake, your input can be made online by filling out a report on the NRC earthquake page.

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Second quake this month:

There are quakes all the time, but this is the second one in December 2023 which people have felt. It’s yet another reminder to be prepared.

About Magnitude:

The magnitude scale is logarithmic.

At the same distance, an earthquake of magnitude 6 produces vibrations with amplitudes 10 times greater than those from a magnitude 5 earthquake and 100 times greater than those from a magnitude 4 earthquake. 

Shifting from social media:

As of January 13, 2024, the Earthquakes Canada account on X (Twitter) by Natural Resources Canada will no longer be updated.

For earthquake updates people can visit the Natural Resources Canada Earthquakes website, or rely on regular news media and your local emergency response services.

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===== RELATED:

Earthquake in BC Interior, a reminder to be prepared (December 4, 2023)

Thanksgiving Sunday evening: earthquake close to home (October 8, 2023)

Sunday morning earthquake on Vancouver Island (March 12, 2023)