Tsunami warning for Hawaii following Canadian earthquake

WASHINGTON: An earthquake off the west coast of Canada has triggered a tsunami that is headed toward the US state of Hawaii, The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center announced early Sunday.
"A tsunami has been generated that could cause damage along the coastline of all islands in the state of Hawaii," the center warned.

USGS: Major earthquake hits islands off west coast of Canada

VANCOUVER (Canada): A Tsunami warning was issued for Hawaii following Canadian earthquake, official.
A major 7.7 magnitude earthquake shook the Queen Charlotte Islands off the west coast of Canada late Saturday, US government researchers said.
The epicenter of the tremor, which occurred at 8:04 pm (0304 GMT Sunday) was located 139km (86 miles) south of the town of Masset, the US Geological Survey said.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was no "destructive widespread tsunami threat" at this time.
However, the regional West Coast-Alaska Tsunami Warning Center issued a regional warning for coasts located near the epicenter of the earthquake.
There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.
"A 7.7 is a big, hefty earthquake. It's not something you can ignore," Gerard Fryer, senior geophysicist at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center told n CNN International.
He explained that the latest tremor had occurred partly under an island, but mostly under shallow water.
"I think we have to be thankful it happened where it did," Fryer said. "If that were a heavily populated area, it would have caused significant damage."
"It definitely would have done significant damage if it had been under a city," the geophysicist added.
The Globe and Mail newspaper reported that the quake was felt in Haida Gwaii Island and across a swathe of north and central British Columbia including Prince Rupert, Quesnel and Houston, with no immediate reports of damage.
The US Coast Guard in Alaska was trying to warn everyone with a boat on the water to prepare for a potential tsunami, the report said.
The Canadian paper also quoted Lieutenant Bernard Auth of the Juneau Command Center as saying that the US Coast Guard was also working with local authorities to alert people in coastal towns to take precautions.
The earthquake reading was based on the open-ended Moment Magnitude scale used by US seismologists, which measures the area of the fault that ruptured and the total energy released.