An earthquake rocked the British Columbia coast Saturday night causing a tsunami warning to be issued.

The 7.7 magnitude quake struck the Haida Gwaii area about 200 kilometres south-southwest of Prince Rupert at about 8:04 p.m. local time.

An aftershock of magnitude 4.6 was reported in the Queen Charlotte region, at 8:52 p.m. by Earthquakes Canada.

The tsunami warning is in effect in two zones in B.C., The North Coast and Haida Gwaii as well as The Central Coast including: Bella Coola, Bella Bella, Shearwater.

According to the Emergency Info B.C. website, the tsunami is a series of waves and the first wave is not usually the largest and could last several hours.

People in these areas are being told to move inland or to higher ground immediately.

Initially coastal communities along the west coast of Vancouver Island were being told to get out of low lying areas as well.

On Twitter people in Tofino were talking about hearing the tsunami alarm and evacuating hotels along the famous beaches.

Tofino’s mayor, Perry Schmunk, took to Twitter to keep residents updated.

“Tofino has activated Tsunami Warning system if your in a low lying area of Tofino please proceed to the community hall ASAP,” he wrote at 9:56 local time.

He added that to be safe, while Tofino is no longer considered in the warning zone, they are keeping sirens activated at this time.

On the mainland, Prince Rupert’s coastal areas are not expected to see many effects, however the Prince Rupert Port terminal are shut down as a precaution.

ckomnews@rawlco.com