The Yukon government is taking stock of the damage from a couple of earthquakes that shook the territory early Monday morning. At least two buildings — a school and a Whitehorse office building — will remain closed Tuesday.

A magnitude 6.2 earthquake hit Yukon and Alaska at about 5:30 a.m. local time Monday, causing power outages, damaging buildings and shaking people awake.

Then another larger quake, magnitude 6.3, hit less than two hours later, about 7:20 a.m. PT. There were also a series of aftershocks.

The first quake hit in British Columbia's far northwest, near the B.C.-Yukon border, about 85 kilometres northwest of Skagway, Alaska, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, while the second hit about 80 kilometres west of Skagway.

Whitehorse residents told CBC News that they were falling out of their beds and dishes were coming down from shelves.

Debris tumbles from Whitehorse's clay cliffs after a quake. Whitehorse resident Angie Dickson took this photo after the second earthquake hit at 7:20 a.m. PT. (Angie Dickson)

The earthquakes were also felt in northern British Columbia.

"Incredible shaking felt in Whitehorse around 5:30 a.m. this morning," resident Jenni Beauregard said in an email to CBC, after the first quake.

She said the tremors lasted about 30 seconds.

"Oh gee, I was laying in bed and I felt the double-wide place that I live in start to shake a bit, and I was wondering what was going on," Sheldon Miller told CBC News.

Thinking it was just strong winds, Miller headed to the window.

Security camera footage from Triniti Technology in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Whitehorse?src=hash">#Whitehorse</a> shows this morning's earthquake. Different angles recorded at 5:30am. <a href="https://t.co/9p6Vte3hke">pic.twitter.com/9p6Vte3hke</a> —@YukonPhilippe

"There was no wind, but then it started shaking pretty violently. Nothing fell, but things did rumble and vibrate," he said.

"It was kind of scary."

'You might want to get under your desk'

The second quake came while B.C. seismologist Taimi Mulder was doing a live phone interview with CBC Radio host Sandi Coleman in Whitehorse.

"You might want to get under your desk if it's still shaking," Mulder told Coleman.

This is one earthquake aftershock from my office in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Whitehorse?src=hash">#Whitehorse</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Yukon?src=hash">#Yukon</a> <a href="https://t.co/TGw8hFFd7B">pic.twitter.com/TGw8hFFd7B</a> —@cbcnorthkv

Mulder said people could be feeling aftershocks throughout the day.

"You live in an earthquake prone part of the world."

Mulder said the 6.2 shake was felt throughout Yukon, though the centre was in northern B.C., not Alaska as earlier reported.

The quake hit in British Columbia's far northwest, near the B.C.-Yukon border, about 85 kilometres northwest of Skagway, Alaska, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. (CBC)

"I think you need to be prepared for potentially more seismicity on this fault. This could likely have been the biggest one that you might feel for now. It's possible you might get a bigger one."

Several aftershocks and smaller earthquakes were registered throughout the morning.

'It took a good shaking'

Federal Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said on Twitter Monday morning that the government was closely monitoring the situation in Whitehorse and emergency response was "on standby to help as required."

Yukon government officials were also taking stock of any damage to infrastructure, including roads and bridges, but by Monday afternoon had reported no major problems yet.

Canada's Govt Ops Centre closely monitoring earthquake near Whitehorse - on standby to help as required. Stay safe everyone. —@RalphGoodale

Dept. of Highways is organizing a comprehensive check of all highways including bridge inspections. —@YukonPS

The Whitehorse airport appeared unaffected and flights were coming and going as scheduled, said Aisha Montgomery, with the Yukon government's protective services division.

At least one downtown building appeared to suffer damage — the Lynn building was evacuated and closed for the day. The territorial government, which rents the building, said it will remain closed until an engineer's report is reviewed.

Paula Nugent, who works there, noticed long cracks on the outside of the building. She also saw damage inside before she had to leave.

"The stairwell has been compromised with huge cracks, there's plaster falling off the walls," she said. "It looks pretty scary in there.

"I work on the fourth floor, and there are cabinet doors open, there's plants fallen over, there's pictures on the floor — yeah, it took a good shaking," she said.

Paula Nugent works in the Lynn building in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Whitehorse?src=hash">#Whitehorse</a>. Here she is showing what's new after this morning's earthquake. <a href="https://t.co/H4vMOAGwXV">pic.twitter.com/H4vMOAGwXV</a> —@YukonPhilippe

The Yukon government is inspecting all schools, and two were closed for the day — Elijah Smith Elementary School in Whitehorse and the Ross River School. Both suffered some structural damage, according to Holly Fraser with the territory's Education Department.

Elijah Smith will reopen on Tuesday, officials said, but the library will be closed because of broken windows. Ross River School will remain closed until a technical inspection can be done later this week.

St. Elias School in Haines Junction is showing some "superficial cracks," but it will remain open, the government said.

Whitehorse Elementary School was also closed for inspection Monday morning, but was reopened within hours.

Power outages

The earthquakes also left thousands of people without power early Monday morning. ATCO Electric said 8,000 customers in Yukon were affected, most in the Whitehorse area, but also in the communities of Carcross and Teslin.

Those customers had power back within an hour of the first quake, but about 3,000 of them saw their power knocked out again after the second quake. That outage was also less than an hour for most customers.

Yukon Energy, meanwhile, checked its Whitehorse dam, substations and LNG plant for any damage on Monday morning, but has not reported any problems.

Yukon Energy CEO Andrew Hall said the company's new LNG plant is designed to withstand an earthquake.</s>CLOSE A strong earthquake struck in a sparsely populated area of Southeast Alaska near its border with Canada's Yukon Territory on Monday, followed by a series of minor seismic events. At a magnitude of 6.2, the temblor hit northwest of Mosquito Lake, a hamlet with a population of about 300. USA TODAY

A magnitude 6.3 earthquake (yellow star) was recorded in British Columbia on Monday, May 1, 2017. (Photo: U.S. Geological Survey)

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The U.S. Geological Survey says a magnitude-6.3 aftershock has shaken the corner of British Columbia, near the boundary with Alaska, nearly two hours after a magnitude-6.2 earthquake hit the same area.

Geophysicist Amy Vaughan says it's not completely uncommon for an aftershock to be larger than the triggering quake, though normally the following quakes are smaller. She says there's been a series of aftershocks ranging from magnitudes 2 to 5.

The initial large quake hit around 4:30 a.m. Monday about 30 miles northwest of the tiny Alaska town of Mosquito Lake and about 83 miles southwest of Whitehorse, Canada.

The large aftershock struck within a few miles.

The geological survey website has recorded nearly 200 reports of people feeling the shaking.

Vaughan says the area is highly seismic and quakes of this magnitude aren't unexpected.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/2qpfujD</s>A series of powerful earthquakes struck Monday in the northern tip of British Columbia near the border with Alaska and Yukon.

No injuries or serious damage have been reported so far.

The U.S. Geological Survey says a 6.3-magnitude quake hit 85 kilometres west-northwest of Skagway, Alaska at about 7:18 a.m. local time (14:18 UTC) at the depth of 2.2 kilometres.

This was the latest in the series of at least a dozen tremors that shook the area since a 6.2-magnitude quake shook residents of Whitehorse out of their beds at about 5:31 a.m. local time (12:31 UTC). It was centred 88 kilometres west-northwest of Skagway at a depth of 2.2 kilometres. Natural Resources Canada estimated the depth of the quake at 10 kilometres.

Several Twitter users reported feeling tremors, including many in Whitehorse, about 180 kilometres away.</s>WHITEHORSE — A series of earthquakes shook parts of southwestern Yukon and northern British Columbia early Monday morning, knocking out power in the territory's capital.

Natural Resources Canada said a quake measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale was centred in a remote area 77 kilometres northwest of Skagway, Alaska, and 127 kilometres southwest of Whitehorse.

The U.S. Geological Survey reported that that was followed by a 5.2 shake a few minutes later and another major 6.3 quake about 1 1/2 hours after that.

"What I can tell you is that there has been no reports of damage or injury in Whitehorse," said an official with the Yukon Emergency Measures Organization.

"We are continuing to assess our infrastructure. There are intermittent power failures within Whitehorse. Sir, I have got to go. There is another earthquake happening."

Earthquakes over a magnitude of six can cause damage to buildings, even well-built ones.

Both the National Weather Service in the U.S. and Emergency Info B.C. said the quakes were not expected to trigger a tsunami.

Yukon Community Services Minister John Streiker said on Twitter that Yukon Energy was working with ATCO to restore power outages and to check dams and substations for damage.

"It was a pretty good shake," said Jean, who works at Bernies Gas Station in Whitehorse. She would not give her last name.

"At first I thought my fridge was not starting properly. My poor old cats got big eyes.

"My one employee just came in and said she had stuff coming off of her shelves. Our power was off."

Dustin Davis felt the shaking in Carcross, Yukon, about 75 kilometres south of Whitehose.

"Our house shook a bit but nothing is damaged," he said.

"I haven't left my house, but most of the homes around here are maximum two storeys, and in Carcross there are no real tall structures and I think everything can handle a decent little shake."</s>Several powerful earthquakes struck Monday in the northern tip of British Columbia near the border with Alaska and Yukon.

The U.S. Geological Survey says a 6.2-magnitude quake hit 88 kilometres northwest of Skagway, Alaska. That was followed by several smaller quakes, including one with a magnitude of 5.2 shake and another major 6.3 quake about almost two hours after the first.

USGS geophysicist Amy Vaughan tells the Associated Press that it's not completely uncommon for an aftershock to be larger than the triggering quake, though normally, following quakes are smaller.

Natural Resources Canada says the first quake struck around 5:30 a.m. Pacific time, at a depth of only 10 kilometres.

There are no reports of injuries or building damage in the remote region, and no tsunami warning was issued. But Yukon Energy confirmed that the quakes triggered power outages.

Several Twitter users reported feeling tremors, including many in Whitehorse, about 170 kilometres away.

Seismologist Taimi Mulder of the Geologic Survey of Canada tells CTV News Channel the quake occurred on the Fairweather Fault, also known as the Queen Charlotte Fault.

The Alaska area experiences a large amount of seismic activity due to the movement of the Pacific tectonic plate and the North American plate. In 1964, an earthquake centred near Prince William Sound in Alaska registered a magnitude of 9.2 -- the second-largest ever recorded.

Mulder says there could be more aftershock quakes to come after Monday’s temblor.

There’s also the potential this earthquake could be a foreshock of a larger quake still to come, Mulder added.

“We won’t know until probably for the next week or two,” she said.</s>The Latest on a series of earthquakes on the boundary of Canada and Alaska : State Rep. Charisse Millett was asleep in Juneau, 134 miles away from the quake, when the shaking started around 4:30 a.m. Monday. The U.S. Geological Survey says a magnitude-6.2 earthquake shook the corner of British Columbia, near the boundary with Alaska, followed nearly two hours later by a magnitude-6.3 aftershock in the same area.

Start the conversation, or Read more at Fredericksburg.com.</s>A powerful earthquake struck Monday, in the northern tip of British Columbia near the border with Alaska and Yukon.

The U.S. Geological Survey says a 6.2-magnitude quake hit 88 kilometres northwest of Skagway, Alaska, around 4:30 a.m. local time. That was followed by several smaller aftershocks.

Natural Resources Canada says the earthquake struck at a shallow depth of only 10 kilometres.

Several Twitter users reported feeling tremors, including many in Whitehorse, about 180 kilometres away.

The Alaska area experiences a high amount of seismic activity due to the movement of the Pacific and North American tectonic plates. In 1964, an earthquake centred near Prince William Sound in Alaska registered a magnitude of 9.2 -- the second-largest earthquake ever recorded..</s>(UPI) — Parts of Alaska and Canada braced for more aftershocks after two major earthquakes rattled the region on Monday.

The first earthquake with a magnitude of 6.2 struck about 60 miles northwest of Haines, Alaska, and was felt across hundreds of miles of southeast Alaska and northwest Canada.

“it was a pretty good little roller,” said Tim Holm, a Haines Borough emergency medical technician, and firefighter. “It pretty much woke up the whole town.”

The second, less than two hours later, registered a magnitude of 6.3 in nearly the same location, the Alaska Earthquake Center said. No damage was reported.

There have been 13,676 earthquakes reported in Alaska this year, the AEC said.

Seismologist Natalia Ruppert put the quakes’ epicenters in British Columbia and warned “pretty strong” aftershocks are expected. The biggest recorded so far was a magnitude 4.7

Michael West, a seismologist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, said both earthquakes were the same magnitude as ones that killed 250 people in Italy last August.

“A 6.3, 6.4, 6.5 magnitude quake like this one, it’s scary as hell if you’re right on top of it,” he said. “People need to be respectful of a quake this size.”</s>WHITEHORSE -- More than 100 aftershocks had shivered across the Alaska Panhandle, southern Yukon and parts of northwestern British Columbia by early Tuesday following two powerful earthquakes a day earlier, but seismologists say while people need to be prepared, it isn't time to be alarmed.

The U.S. Geological Survey reported the aftershocks, including at least a dozen Tuesday morning, in the wake of the 6.2 and 6.3 magnitude earthquakes Monday that were centred near Skagway, Alaska, but were felt as far away as Whitehorse and Ross River, which is more than 300 kilometres away.

Earthquakes Canada also reported a 4.5 magnitude quake jolted the Carcross region, about 75 kilometres south of Whitehorse on Tuesday morning.

Earthquake seismologist Alison Bird of the Geological Survey of Canada said continued shaking is expected.

"It's sort of a swarm of activity, there seems to be some intense earthquakes," she said.

"It's fairly normal to have this sort of thing. This is an area that gets a lot of earthquakes anyway, but sometimes it sort of flares up in sudden activity."

Powerful earthquakes almost always spawn aftershocks that can continue for years, she said, adding that the level of seismic activity in the Haida Gwaii region of B.C. remains elevated, five years after a magnitude 7.8 quake there.

Following Monday's earthquakes, the Yukon government issued messages via Twitter confirming that the school in Ross River, about 200 kilometres northeast of Whitehorse, remained closed as engineers checked for safety.

The four-storey Lynn Building in downtown Whitehorse was also closed after being evacuated Monday when large cracks were spotted in its foundation but other structures, as well as the clay cliffs overlooking downtown Whitehorse had been checked and declared safe.

"It is a good reminder that we can have large earthquakes in that area and they can get much larger than this, so people up there tend to be prepared for that sort of thing," said Bird.</s>A major earthquake in northwest British Columbia shook up communities in nearby Alaska and Yukon Territory but caused no apparent damage. Kathryn Carl, a teacher in the Alaska village of Klukwan about 40 miles (64 kilometers) from the epicenter, said the magnitude 6.2 quake shook her awake at 4:30 a.m. Carl thought her 80-pound Karelian bear dog had jumped on the bed.

“She was sitting there,” Carl said. “She knew about it before we did.” A series of aftershocks, including a magnitude 6.3 quake at 6:18 a.m., kept Carl from getting a restful night’s sleep. Students at Klukwan School, where Carl is head teacher, took the quake in stride. It wasn’t even the main topic of conversation.

“They’re going fishing,” Carl said. “They’re getting ready for a hooligan trip.” Hooligan are a type of smelt. The first earthquake struck about 83 miles (134 kilometers) southwest of Whitehorse, Canada.

Richard Graham, acting director of infrastructure and operations for the city of Whitehorse, said officials inspected major structures afterward. They found no damage but had to reset traffic lights because the quake knocked out power to parts of the Yukon capital.

Jay Massie, manager of Atco Electric Yukon, said the first quake shut down one of three major Whitehorse substations and affected 8,000 customers. Power was almost restored when a shorter, magnitude 6.3 aftershock affected the station again.

Power to most customers was restored within two hours. Massie was preparing to take his daughter to swimming lessons when the first quake hit. It started slow, built to a crescendo and woke up everyone in his home, he said.

“It even woke up my teenage daughter, which is very hard to do,” he said. The quake was felt in Alaska’s capital, Juneau, about 134 miles (216 kilometers) to the south. It roused state Rep. Charisse Millett from her sleep and knocked plastic dishware off her counters.

“I am wide awake and super tired now,” said the Anchorage Republican, who has experienced her share of earthquakes but is used to them being shorter.

It’s not uncommon for an aftershock to be larger than the triggering quake, though normally the following quakes are smaller, U.S. Geological Survey geophysicist Amy Vaughan said. Other aftershocks ranged from magnitudes 2 to 5.

Vaughan said the shallow initial quake had the potential to cause damage but the remote location dropped the chances of major problems. Juneau emergency programs manager Tom Mattice said he received no reports of damage. Rep. Scott Kawasaki, who said he sleeps in his Capitol office at least twice a week to get work done, also was jolted awake.

The Fairbanks Democrat said he was trying to fall back asleep on the couch when the second quake hit. A video he posted on Twitter showed liquid shaking in an energy drink bottle on a table. He said he was reminded of the recent renovation of the Capitol, meant to fortify it against earthquakes.

“I was thinking about all the construction work that went into the Capitol, specifically on seismic control,” he said. “So I’m glad the Capitol didn’t fall into the channel.”

Jaimie Lawson, a 911 dispatcher with the Skagway Police Department, said the town 55 miles (89 kilometers) away from the quake did not receive reports of damage or injuries from the initial shaking.

Computers slid around in the mobile home that houses police operations in the valley town of 800, she said, and it was the first earthquake she felt that forced her to stand up to get her bearings.

Heath Scott, chief of police in Haines, about 60 miles (96.5 kilometers) southeast of the quake epicenter, said it shook a picture frame off his file cabinet. He saw no damage as he toured the city of 2,500. The geological survey website recorded hundreds of reports of people feeling the shaking.

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A series of earthquakes, the largest registering 6.3, strike near Mosquito Lake, Alaska, near the Alaskan border with British Columbia, Canada. At least one office building and two schools were heavily damaged and evacuated in the Yukon.