Magnitude-6.4 quake strikes off of Vancouver

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) - A magnitude-6.4 earthquake struck Friday off the coast of British Columbia, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The quake struck 12:41 p.m. PDT (1941 GMT) at a depth of 14.3 miles about 173 miles west of Vancouver, the USGS said. The quake was initially reported to have a magnitude of 6.7 but was later downgraded by the USGS.

The quake's epicenter just off the west coast of Vancouver Island, south of Port Hardy.

Stephen Halchuck, a seismologist with Natural Resources Canada, said the quake lasted for 20-30 seconds and rattled buildings across Vancouver Island and the southwest portion of British Columbia. He said there has been no immediate reports of damage in the region.

There were also no immediate reports of damage in the closest parts of Washington state, including the northern tip of the Olympic Peninsula and the San Juan Islands.

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.

According to the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center no tsunami was expected.

Halchuck said he anticipates a number of aftershocks to hit British Columbia but said they will likely be too small in scale to be felt.