In the wake of a magnitude 7.5 earthquake off the coast of Alaska overnight, a professor at Simon Fraser University says there's a link to October's Haida Gwaii quake.

Dr. John Clague explains that magnitude 7.8 incident could have helped trigger this latest rattle.

"We're finding globally that along major faults, very active faults, that one earthquake can kind of set up a loading at the ends of the zones that rupture that lead to another earthquake and another rupture along the same fault -- just at another location."

Clague says it's a reminder for those on the south coast of BC to be ready for 'the big one' --  but points out this quake happened along the Queen Charlotte Fault -- not the meeting of the Juan de Fuca and North America plates.