Three earthquakes between 6.5 and 6.8 magnitude strength hit Canadian province British Columbia in less than an hour at 10.39pm local time, according to the United States Geological Survey.
The earthquakes have been followed by a number of weaker tremors on the west coast of Canada, the US and Mexico.
Seven more struck near Vancouver island and measured between 4.3 and 5.2 magnitude in strength.
Another earthquake measuring 4.3 struck off Chiapas, Mexico, while a 4.4 quake struck in the Gulf of California.
Are there fears over huge tectonic plates shift?
Canada sits on one of 30 tectonic plates, which underlie the earth’s continents and oceans.
The plates, which are tens of kilometres thick each, move in different directions, due to currents of molten material below the earth’s crust.
When the plates collide, earthquakes and volcanic activity occur.
Canada’s west coast is situated in one of the world’s most active collision zones, as the westbound North American plate overrides the Pacific plate.
British Columbia is also located in the North American part of the Pacific Ring of Fire.
This means the area is at risk from being hit by earthquakes.
The Ring is a huge are in the basin of the Pacific Ocean and is said to be the location for 90 per cent of the world’s earthquakes.
As a result, the ring is constantly active and tremors strike every day.
More than 1000 earthquakes take place around the world every year and most of them occur in areas sitting on the Ring.
Ben van der Pluijm, a geologist at the University of Michigan, told Express.co.uk: “On a yearly basis we have roughly 1500 magnitude 5-5.9 earthquakes around the world.
“So far we are at roughly 1100 for 2018.”
Another strong quake hit the Ring of Fire today near the Japanese city of Fukushima.
The 5.0 magnitude tremor struck 29 miles under the surface at 10.47am UTC (11.47am BST).
It occurred just off the coast of Japan, around 21 miles out to sea.