6.4 Quake Hits Off Vancouver

A magnitude-6.4 earthquake struck today off the coast of British Colombia, the US Geological Survey said. The quake struck at 12:41pm PDT about 173 miles west of Vancouver. No immediate reports have damage have surfaced. "It's been felt pretty widely—we have reports of it being felt in Vancouver, Victoria, and even in Seattle," a USGS geophysicist tells the Vancouver Sun. The quake shook buildings on Vancouver Island.

As a precaution, the Washington state Transportation Department sent inspectors to check for damage at the Alaskan Way Viaduct, an aging elevated highway on the Seattle waterfront, as well as two other bridges. No tsunami warning was issued. (More earthquake stories.)