An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.5 has struck Southern Ontario, Canada. Felt in Buffalo, NY; Detroit Michigan.
The Cnet news quoted “Things started shaking on my desk,” said Greg Dorval, who works in the south end of Ottawa. “It felt like a huge truck going by the building, but multiply that by ten.”
Toronto’s Emergency Medical Services has received no requests for help related to the earthquake, said Kim McKinnon, a spokeswoman for the service.
Despite reports of broken windows, Ottawa’s Rideau Centre, a downtown mall, was shaken but unscathed by the earthquake, said Cindy VanBuskirk, the centre’s general manager.
Dr. Cruden said there have been two recorded earthquakes with a maginitude over 6.0 on the Richter scale in the Western Quebec seismic zone, one in 1935 and one in 1732.
aCarlton University professor David Lau, a civil engineer who is part of the Canadian Seismic Research Network, said he felt his office shake for about 20 seconds.
“This is a significant event for the Ottawa area. This kind of event doesn’t happen very often,” he said, but noted the 5.5 magnitude wouldn’t be enough to damage most buildings in Canada. QMI Agency’s Ottawa bureau reported the earthquake around 1:43 p.m.
The U.S. Geological Survey Earthquake Hazards Program reports the 5.5 magnitude quake hit the Ontario-Quebec border region. The epicentre was Buckingham, Que., just northeast of Ottawa.
The seismic monitoring centre in the geological sciences department at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont., was flooded with calls from people reporting the suspected seismic event.
Fire alarms were going off all over Toronto. Windows were broken in Ottawa and a chimney near City Hall collapsed.
Schools as far as London, Ont., were evacuated after the earthquake shook the area, approximately 650 kms from the epicentre.
“We are all standing outside trying to figure out what happened,” said Richard Hoffman, Thames Valley spokesperson.
News sites from as far from Chicago, Boston and Cleveland reported feeling the rumble.
Carlton University professor David Lau, a civil engineer who is part of the Canadian Seismic Research Network, said he felt his office shake for about 20 seconds.
“This is a significant event for the Ottawa area. This kind of event doesn’t happen very often,” he said, but noted the 5.5 magnitude wouldn’t be enough to damage most buildings in Canada.
“This type of earthquake does not have a damaging event.”