USGS: Magnitude 7.7 quake hits Canada's British Columbia

By NBC News wire services

Updated at 1:34 a.m. ET: A magnitude 7.7 earthquake has hit Canada's Pacific coast province of British Columbia on Saturday night, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.

The quake was centered 123 miles south-southwest of Prince Rupert at a depth of 6.2 miles, the USGS said.

Coastal areas of Alaska and the Pacific Northwest were under a tsunami warning after the quake shook the Queen Charlotte Islands area,? followed by a 5.8-magnitude aftershock several minutes later.

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The National Weather Service has issued a warning for coastal areas of southern Alaska, Northern California, Oregon and Washington state. It says the warning area includes Craig and Sitka, Alaska.

The U.S. Coast Guard in Alaska says it's trying to warn everyone with a boat on the water to prepare for a potential tsunami.

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Lt. Bernard Auth of the Juneau Command Center says the Coast Guard is also working with local authorities to alert people in coastal towns to take precautions.

Port Clements Golden Spruce hotel operator Urs Thomas, 59,?said there was no warning before everything began moving inside and outside the hotel. He said it last about three minutes.

"It was a pretty good shock," Thomas told The Associated Press.?"I looked at my boat outside. It was rocking. Everything was moving. My truck was moving."

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/27/14751281-magnitude-77-quake-hits-canadas-british-columbia-usgs-reports?lite

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