Ontario Tremor Reflects Ontario Fault Lines

I always thought we were protected by the Canadian Shield, not so it seems.


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It was a startling reminder that Central Canada is an earthquake zone.

Shortly after 1:40 p.m. on Wednesday, a 5.0-magnitude earthquake was felt across Ontario and Quebec, rattling homes and buildings from Sudbury to Quebec City, and as far south as New York City. Closer to the quake’s epicentre, about 55 kilometres north of Ottawa, workers evacuated downtown buildings, pouring into city streets by the thousands, dodging falling objects and broken glass.

While no major injuries were reported, earthquake experts said geological faults throughout Quebec and in Ontario – near nuclear plants – could bring disaster in the future to a region that is not ready for a big quake.

“In the west, they’re prepared: they design their buildings, they teach children in schools what to do,” said Arsalan Mohajer, a professor of geology at the University of Toronto. “But in the east, we don’t think it’s going to happen. We’ll be caught by surprise.”

That is scary. I saw on the news last night that a part of the northern US felt a quake. May have been connected somehow.