A transit security officer stands outside the Commercial-Broadway Skytrain station after the commuter train system was shut down to check for any possible damage to elevated guideways in Vancouver, B.C., in the early morning hours of Wednesday December 30, 2015, after an earthquake struck off the west coast late Tuesday night. The moderate quake struck at 11:39 p.m. local time Tuesday about 20 kilometres north of Victoria and was felt across much of southern British Columbia. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

VANCOUVER - Some thought a car had rammed their home. Others thought it was someone pounding on the door or the neighbours moving furniture.

It wasn't until the shaking stopped several seconds later that it became obvious British Columbia's south coast had been hit by an earthquake.

It struck at 11:39 p.m. local time Tuesday, about 20 kilometres north of Victoria, and was felt across much of southern B.C. There was no reported damage or injuries and it did not spawn a tsunami.

Natural Resources Canada said the quake measured 4.3 while the U.S. Geological Survey placed the magnitude at 4.8. — levels the Canadian agency said would not be expected to cause any problems.

The City of Vancouver confirmed no known reports of damage and BC Hydro reported the quake had no impact on its electrical transmission and distribution systems.

Two of Metro Vancouver's elevated rapid transit lines were shut down briefly while the guideways were checked, but TransLink said the system was back in operation within 90 minutes.

Geophysicist John Cassidy with the Sidney, B.C.-based Geological Survey of Canada noted the quake was between 50 and 60 kilometres below the southeast coast of Vancouver Island.

"Even people who live very close to the epicentre of the earthquake will be 50 or 60 kilometres away from where the shaking originated. So that makes the shaking not as strong as if it had been right up at the surface or very close to the surface. These deep earthquakes tend to have very few or, most often, no aftershocks," said Cassidy.

Still, people took to social media in the aftermath to share their experience.

While some tweeted that it felt like their whole house shook, others said they thought someone was just shaking their sofa. One person poked a little fun at the situation posting a picture of a single, toppled plastic chair over the words "we will rebuild."

Cassidy said scientists would be more certain of the estimated magnitude, once they analyze the quake's wave forms and data.

"It was felt by thousands of people across British Columbia to distances of about 200 kilometres," he said. "It's the largest in the area since back in 2001 and that was a 6.8 earthquake near Seattle and Tacoma. So it was the same type of earthquake that hit Seattle but it was about 100 times smaller."

B.C. Minister of State for Emergency Preparedness Naomi Yamamoto said the quake should be a "wake-up call" for residents to be prepared.

"A new year's resolution could be (to) make sure that you have an earthquake kit, not just at home but at the office as well," she said.

She urged families to make plans for communicating and meeting up if separated during a big quake. A list of items for an emergency kit — including water, flashlights and a battery-powered or hand-crank radio — can be found on the B.C. government website.

The province is overdue for the "Big One." There's a roughly 300-year cycle for major earthquakes, and the Pacific Coast was last hit by a magnitude-9 tremor on Jan. 26, 1700, Yamamoto said.

A statement from the province said it had either committed or already invested billions in seismic upgrades since 2001, including $2.2 billion for high-risk schools and $9.1 billion for hospitals.

The province has also spent $4 billion on new bridges and large highway-infrastructure projects built to modern seismic standards, including the Port Mann Bridge in Metro Vancouver.

Tuesday's quake followed another, unrelated quake several hours earlier near San Bernadino, Calif., that measured 4.4.

The USGS said aftershocks of magnitude 3.8 and 3.2 came minutes later and dozens of tiny aftershocks followed in California over the next few hours.

— With files from The Associated Press

News from © The Canadian Press, 2015