A small earthquake occurred east of Sidney on Boxing Day and while some people felt it, the quake was too small to cause any damage.

According to Natural Resources Canada's earthquake monitoring centre, Earthquakes Canada, there was a magnitude 3.3 quake 13 kilometres east of Sidney at 10:36 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 26. Its epicenter was located in Haro Strait, between the Saanich Peninsula and the San Juan Islands. No damage was expected from the event.

Seismologist Taimi Mulder of Earthquakes Canada said the quake was deep in the ocean, nearly 60 km down, at the Juan de Fuca plate. This subduction plate falls between the larger North American and Pacific plates and runs from mid-Vancouver Island down to the Orgeon/California border.

The centre shows on its website more than 270 reports of the earthquake from residents of the Peninsula, Sidney, Victoria and Vancouver, the majority stating any motion they felt was weak or light. According to those reports it was felt as far away as Abbotsford and the Sunshine Coast.

If you felt the earthquake, or wish to report others in the future, Earthquakes Canada website provides a .