Quake rattles northwestern British Columbia

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan 9 (Reuters) - A moderate earthquake rattled northwestern British Columbia and the Alaska Panhandle on Tuesday, but there were no reports of damage, seismologists said.

The quake at 7:49 a.m. PST (1549 GMT) was centered in the mountains of British Columbia about 192 km (120 miles) southwest of Whitehorse, Yukon, in a sparsely populated area prone to earthquakes, according to Natural Resources Canada.

Canadian seismologists said the quake was magnitude 5.6, having initially estimated it at 6.0 magnitude. The Alaska Earthquake Information Center put the strength at magnitude 5.7.