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Earthquake shakes Greater Victoria

A minor earthquake was felt in Greater Victoria Tuesday morning, at 8:36 a.m.
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The red square shows the epicenter of a a 3.2 magnitude earthquake that was felt in Greater Victoria on Tuesday morning.

A minor earthquake was felt in Greater Victoria Tuesday morning, at 8:36 a.m.

The 3.2 magnitude earthquake originated 23 kilometres northeast of Victoria, around the San Juan Islands, according to the National Earthquake Information Center.

It was felt in Victoria, Saanich and by some as far west as Sooke.

Scott McDonald, who lives near Esquimalt Lagoon in Colwood, was in his bedroom when he felt shaking.

"I felt a jolt and a bang and the whole room shook for a very brief second or two," he said.

His wife had just left to take their child to school and because the bedroom is above the carport, he initially thought his wife had backed their van into the house.

"Apparently that wasn't the case," he said, noting that he'd felt many earthquakes previously while living in Japan.

"This was a baby (earthquake) — but it gets the adrenalin rushing to be sure," he said.

On the Richter scale, earthquakes of a magnitude between 3.0-3.9 are considered minor. They are often felt but rarely cause any damage.