A magnitude 4.0 earthquake hit western Quebec near the Ontario border at 12:36 p. m., according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The epicenter was located about 20 km northeast of Shawville, QC; 59 km east of Pembroke, 62 km west-northwest of Gatineau, and 63 km west-northwest of Ottawa.
Readers from Hometownist have mentioned feeling the tremors as far west as Trenton and as far east as Cornwall. Even folks in Napanee and Kingston reported noticing the rumble that coincided with the rolling thunder during the day’s rainstorm.
A quake with a magnitude of 4.0 is typically seen as a moderate event; earthquakes measuring less than 2.0 are usually too small to be felt, while those at or above 8.0 can cause serious destruction near their epicenters.
The USGS states that residents in this large western Quebec seismic zone have experienced small quakes and dealt with damage from larger ones for over three centuries.
The most significant earthquakes happened in 1935 (magnitude 6.1) at the northwestern edge of the zone and in 1732 (magnitude 6.2) about 450 km (280 mi) away at its southeastern end, causing notable damage in Montreal. Damaging earthquakes occur roughly once every ten years in this area.
Smaller tremors are reported three or four times each year according to USGS data.
This article was originally by Lanarkist.
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