4.5-magnitude earthquake shakes central Alberta residents, cause under investigation

Hundreds of people north of Edmonton felt a 4.5 magnitude earthquake strike on Wednesday. CTV News Edmonton's Miriam Valdes-Carletti has the reaction.

A somewhat unprecedented earthquake hit central Alberta on Wednesday evening and its cause is now being investigated by a provincial energy body.

A 4.5-magnitude earthquake was recorded by Earthquakes Canada about 18 kilometres northeast of Morinville, or 42 kilometres north of Edmonton, just before 5:30 p.m.

Some 500 residents from Gibbons, Bon Accord, Legal and surrounded areas reported feeling the shake around that time.

Gibbons resident Brad Nerieok compared it to running full tilt at a wall and body checking it.

“Or I fell from the ceiling and hit the floor, that kind of a thud,” he said on Thursday.

“My husband thought maybe the deck fell off, but it was too long of a shake for something to have an impact on a house like that,” said Elsie Simmons, who lives just north of Gibbons.

“All the neighbours’ chickens were (clucking), and the horses were going nuts.”

John Cassidy, a seismologist with Natural Resources Canada, said an earthquake of this magnitude is rare in central Alberta.

“It’s a region that typically does not see many earthquakes … Typically, it’s very quiet in the prairies, north of Alberta, north of Edmonton and to the east. So it’ll be an interesting earthquake, it will be looked at very carefully to see what’s happening.”

He said smaller earthquakes in the region are often associated with industrial activities, like oil and gas production, but natural earthquakes aren’t out of the question.

Alberta Energy Regulator (AER), the group overseeing oil, gas, oil sands and coal projects across the province, told CTV News Edmonton its geoscience branch was reviewing the earthquake to determine the cause.

That branch, called the Alberta Geological Survey, currently has the quake listed as “known induced,” but has not specified any link to industrial projects.

In the last 40 years, Cassidy noted, there have only been six “tiny” earthquakes (between 2 and 3 magnitudes) within 50 kilometres of Wednesday’s.

“There are small earthquakes happening every day throughout Alberta, but generally, the seismic hazard in the province is relatively low until you get close to the Rockies and the foothills,” he said.

Earthquakes between a magnitude of 3.5 and 5.4 are often felt, but rarely cause damage, according to Earthquakes Canada. AER said no damages have been reported from Wednesday’s quake.

“4.5 is a little bit small. We wouldn’t expect damage other than items falling from shelves,” Cassidy said.

“But if you’re very close, that’s still frightening. It’s still strong enough shaking, it’s unusual enough in this area, that it’s quite frightening.”

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Miriam Valdes-Carletti and CTV National’s Kathy Le