Wind, earthquake rattles British Columbia

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Wind, earthquake rattles British Columbia

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British Columbia is being pummelled by nature this afternoon, with 100 km/h gusts in Vancouver and a 6.0 earthquake in the northern part of the province.

"Federal Environment Minister John Baird linked weird weather to
global warming Monday during a tour of the windstorm-flattened forests
of Stanley Park.

At Prospect Point, beside a clearing strewn with
fallen trees and upturned root balls, Baird suggested the December
windstorm was a "wake-up call."

"When you see the huge number of
downed trees, it's heartbreaking," he told reporters.

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.