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PRINCE RUPERT, B.C. - A significant earthquake jolted British Columbia's north coast early yesterday, rattling furniture and nerves but not triggering a tsunami.

Franc Pridoehl, who lives in Queen Charlotte City, said he was having breakfast when the chairs and table started moving and the chandelier began swinging.

"It was really eerie," he said of the 6.5 magnitude quake that struck at 7:30 a.m. "I began getting concerned when it was shaking," Pridoehl said.

"I told my wife, 'Get ready to get out of the house.'"

The Pacific Geoscience Centre in Sidney, B.C., reported the quake was centred 144 kilometres southeast of Queen Charlotte City, off the extreme southern tip of the Queen Charlotte Islands.

The shaker was felt over a wide area of northwestern B.C., from Terrace to Kitimat and as far south as Port Hardy on northern Vancouver Island.

John Cassidy, a seismologist with the Geological Survey of Canada, said the area is prone to earthquakes, "but this was a big one."

"It was felt quite strongly across the Islands and many people described it as the strongest they've felt in several years, but this is one of the most seismically active regions in Canada and a 6.5 earthquake happens every few years."