Yukon News

Residents in the southern Yukon were jolted awake by a pair of earthquakes that struck the Yukon, B.C. and Alaska this morning.

The U.S. Geological Survey reported a 6.2-magnitude quake just after 5:30 a.m. Pacific Time and another of 6.3 around 7:18. The epicenter of the two main quakes was approximately 85 km northwest of Skagway. There have been numerous aftershocks.

The government said no injuries have been reported.

Power was disrupted for approximately 8,000 residents in the Southern Lakes, Carcross and Tagish areas and some parts of Whitehorse. ATCO Electric Yukon said it had restored power to most residents by 7:15 a.m., only to briefly lose power again when the second quake hit. Power was fully restored to Whitehorse by 8 a.m. and to Teslin shortly before 11 a.m.

Some structural damage has been reported at the Lynn Building in downtown Whitehorse, which has visible cracks to its exterior. The building has been evacuated and is currently closed.

Yukon Energy has inspected its dams and LNG facility and found no structural issues, said spokesperson Janet Patterson.

The quake shook toys and other products fall from shelves of Angelina's Toys at Horwood's Mall in downtown Whitehorse, but staff have since cleaned things up. Nothing was damaged.

“We had a few things displaced,” said owner Betty Burns. “It just needed a quick tidy.”

Mike Thomas/Yukon News

Mike Thomas/Yukon News The Lynn Building on Steele Street is closed today to due some structural damage from Monday's earthquakes.

Shaking could be felt as far away as Juneau, reported the Juneau Empire. 

“A 6.3, 6.4, 6.5 magnitude quake like this one, it’s scary as hell if you’re right on top of it,” said Michael West, a seismologist at the geophysical institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks said.

It’s not only the scale of an earthquake which determines its severity and impact, West said, but the population density and type of buildings in the area the quake occurs in. The May 1 quakes were the same magnitude as ones that killed 250 people in Italy last August, he said.

“It’s all about location,” he said. “Had this morning’s quake occurred directly under Whitehorse things would be very different. People need to be respectful of a quake this size.”

The quake occurred along the Denali Fault, a “well known fault structure,” in northwestern Canada and Alaska,” West said. Quakes are common along the coast of British Columbia and into Alaska along the Denali Fault, but are less frequent and sever further inland.

“The location is not a surprise,” he said, “but they’re fairly infrequent (at this magnitude).”

Yukon Protective Services tweeted that the Department of Highways and Public Works will be checking roads and bridges for structural damage.

The Yukon government says Elijah Smith School in Whitehorse remains closed this morning while the building is inspected by structural engineers. Whitehorse Elementary students played outside this morning while a structural engineer examined cracks found in the building. Classes resumed after engineers gave the all-clear.

The Department of Community Services said Ross River school is also closed due to structural damage.

Community Services also said the Blanchard River highway camp, on the Yukon-B.C. border and close to the quake epicentre, was damaged and is closed. 

Community Services Minister John Streicker said in the legislature that Highways and Public Works crews would be conducting aerial surveys to check the South Klondike and Haines roads for structural damage.

The threat of landslides or avalanches in the along the Haines Highway is “very real,” West said.

MORE TO COME

This story was last updated at 2:15 p.m.