Residents escape biggest quake in Canada since 1949

A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck off the west coast of Canada, but there were no reports of major damage.

Residents in parts of British Columbia were evacuated, but the province appeared to escape the biggest quake in Canada since 1949 unscathed.

The US Geological Survey said the quake hit the Queen Charlotte Islands just after 8pm local time on Saturday at a depth of about 4.8km.

The National Weather Service issued a tsunami warning for coastal areas of British Columbia, southern Alaska and Hawaii, but later cancelled it for the first two and downgraded it to an advisory for Hawaii.