2nd earthquake in 3 days reported off Vancouver Island coast

This map from the Earthquakes Canada website shows the approximate location of Friday's quake. (earthquakescanada.nrcan.gc.ca)

A 4.0-magnitude earthquake struck off Vancouver Island's west coast early Friday morning, less than 48 hours after a 4.8-magnitude quake in roughly the same location on Christmas Day.

The latest quake was reported at 2:12 a.m., approximately 192 kilometres west of Port Hardy, according to Earthquakes Canada.

The earthquake occurred at a depth of 10 kilometres and no tsunami is expected, according to the agency.

"There are no reports of damage, and none would be expected," reads Earthquakes Canada's summary of the event, adding that the quake was not felt.

The Christmas Day quake occurred just before 1:40 p.m. at roughly the same location and depth, according to Earthquakes Canada.

The area off the coast of Vancouver Island known to researchers as the Juan de Fuca ridge regularly sees seismic activity ranging in magnitude from 4 to 6.

In July of this year, after a string of a dozen earthquakes in just a few hours, Geological Survey of Canada earthquake seismologist Andrew Schaeffer told CTV News such incidents are "business as usual" for the region.

"These are spreading ridge earthquakes, with historical magnitudes up to about 6, but 4s and 5s are relatively common," he said in an emailed statement at the time.

"Due to the type of earthquake, these do not typically produce any sort of tsunami, nor would we expect them to be felt, let alone cause damage, on Vancouver Island."

With files from CTV News Vancouver's Todd Coyne