VIDEO: Massive 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Canada, prompted tsunami warning for Hawaii

HONOLULU, Hawaii (Sun, Oct 20) – Reported by madn3wz

 

Massive 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Canada, prompted tsunami warning for Hawaii

 

The U.S. state of Hawaii is on high alert after tsunami warnings prompted by massive earthquake struck off western Canada on Saturday evening. Authorities have ordered for the evacuation of at least 100,000 people on the island state to move to higher ground.

 

The 7.7-magnitude earthquake rocked the Queen Charlotte Islands off the west coast of Canada, with no immediate reports of damages.

 

Earlier, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center warned a tsunami was heading towards Hawaii, while the Hawaii-based center warned the first tsunami wave was expected to arrive in the Pacific island state at 10.28pm local time on Saturday (7.28pm AEDT Sunday).

 

"Basically this tsunami is pointed right at us," Gerard Fryer, senior geophysicist at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, told CNN International. "It's not just one wave, it's a succession of waves... We are recommending coastal evacuation."

 

The PT WC said the first tsunami wave was three feet high and less forceful than expected. Some forecasts had predicted a wave of up to six feet high.

 

‘The tsunami arrived about when we expected it should,’ Senior Geophysicist Gerard Fryer told reporters at a news conference, saying: ‘I was expecting it to be a little bigger.’

 

The tsunami warnings followed a powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 7.7 that hit Canada’s Pacific coastal province of British Columbia late on Saturday.

 

The US Geological Survey said the quake was centered 123 miles (198 km) south-southwest of Prince Rupert at a depth of 6.2 miles (10 km).

 

Watch video report: