Minor earthquake rattles several parts of Quebec, including Montreal
4.6 magnitude quake near Drummondville felt from Ottawa to Bas-Saint-Laurent
Early Sunday morning, residents in various parts of Quebec were startled by a minor earthquake. According to Earthquakes Canada, the 4.6 magnitude tremor occurred around 5:45 a.m. at a depth of 18 kilometers. The epicenter was located approximately 20 kilometers northwest of Drummondville and 40 kilometers south of Trois-Rivières.
Seismologist Mareike Adams from Natural Resources Canada stated that the earthquake was widely felt throughout the region, with reports coming in from as far as Ottawa and Quebec City.
Tremors were also detected in the Charlevoix, Bas-Saint-Laurent, and Montreal regions, including the Laurentians and Outaouais areas. Two CBC listeners from Lanoraie in the Lanaudière region reported feeling their homes shake for a few seconds, with their dogs reacting anxiously to the tremors.
Adams compared the sensation of such events to the passing of a large truck or train and noted that no damage had been reported.
While magnitude 4 earthquakes are relatively uncommon in eastern Canada, the Montreal area is situated in the western Quebec seismic zone, where smaller seismic events frequently occur. This zone encompasses the Ottawa Valley, stretching from Montreal to Témiscamingue, the Laurentians, and eastern Ontario.
Although the region experiences an earthquake approximately every five days, most of these events are minor and go unnoticed. Recently, an early earthquake detection system was launched in British Columbia, providing the public with a few seconds of warning before potentially dangerous tremors. Adams mentioned that this system is expected to be activated in eastern Canada later in the fall.
Montreal is located within one of Quebec’s three highest-risk earthquake zones. The western Quebec seismic zone, which includes the Ottawa Valley, Montreal, Témiscamingue, the Laurentians, and eastern Ontario, poses various potential risks such as landslides, damage to infrastructure, power outages, water main breaks, and industrial accidents.
