Hawaii rattled by tsunami warning after Canada quake

A powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake off Canada's west coast set off a tsunami warning that emptied restaurants, bars and theaters in Hawaii and sent rattled residents fleeing beach areas.

But only relatively small waves rolled to shore on the island of Oahu, and the US Tsunami Warning Center later issued an advisory saying the worst was over.

No damage was reported either in Hawaii or in the Charlotte Islands north of Vancouver where the earthquake struck at 0304 GMT Sunday 86 miles (139 kilometers) south of Masset, the archipelago's largest town.

In Canada, residents of the sparsely populated Queen Charlotte Islands appeared to have taken the quake and tsunami warning in stride. The Queen Charlotte Islands, also known by their indigenous name of Haida Gwaii, comprise about 150 islands located north of Canada's Vancouver Island. Only about 5,000 people live on the islands, about 45 percent of them indigenous Haida people.

AFP