‘My bed was shaking’: Ontario residents react to magnitude 3.7 earthquake

Science and Tech Expert Dan Riskin on the earthquake that struck near Orillia how it could be caused by glaciers melting from 10,000 years ago.

More than 3,000 people in Ontario felt a magnitude 3.7 earthquake that struck southern Ontario late Tuesday night.

According to Natural Resources Canada, the event occurred 23 kilometres southeast of Orillia at 10:59 p.m. at a depth of five kilometres.

There have been no reports of any damage.

• READ MORE: Tuesday’s earthquake was ‘quite a rare event’ for southern Ontario. Here’s what to know

The government agency’s “did you feel the earthquake” questionnaire saw at least 3,364 responses by Wednesday morning, with most residents saying they felt a weak to light vibration.

At least two people said they felt a “moderate” shake during the event that only lasted a few seconds.

CTVNews.ca asked its readers what they felt during the rare event. Here’s what they said:

‘I thought I maybe imagined it’

Kim Schneider lives near Saintfield, Ont., and said she thought she heard a large-semi truck passing by when the quake struck.

“Our large guard dogs started barking because I’m sure they felt/heard it too,” she said in an email.

“It was over really quickly and I thought I maybe imagined it. When I got into the house, my adult daughter met me at the door wondering what happened as her bed shook, the stuff on her shelves moved and the large mirror hanging on her door rattled.”

‘A loud bang’

Ruth Watt lives in Orillia and said she heard “a loud bang” just before 11 p.m.

“I thought it was a piece of heavy equipment, and didn’t know it was an earthquake until a friend in Ottawa messaged me about it this morning.”

‘We thought our bed was cracking!’

Ginnie Venslovaitis is in Toronto and said she felt a tremor when the earthquake hit.

“We thought our bed was cracking! We said: ‘What was that?’ We thought maybe an earthquake. We experienced one 30 plus years ago along the St. Lawrence River.”

‘Thought it was the snow plow’

“I felt the earthquake in Whitby around 11p.m.” said Travis Samuel.

“Initially I just thought it was the snowplow, because when it comes down our street, I can hear it and there’s a brief shaky loud sound. Afterwards, on social media, realized it was an earthquake.”

‘We usually get little shakes every year, but not like this’

Joe Sipak lives in Innisfil, Ont., and said the entire event only lasted about three seconds.

“I thought it was the ice from the lake, that was starting to form and shift, that was creating it because we usually get little shakes every year, but not like this.”

‘What was that?!’

Rosemarie Fishley said the hallway and dining room of her Orono, Ont., shook at around 11 p.m.

“I startled and yelled out to my husband who was asleep upstairs, ‘What was that?!’ He yelled down, ‘I am sure just a frost quake.’ I wasn’t so certain and this morning I learned that I was correct!!”

‘Felt the bed moving back and forth’

“My husband was in the hot tub and I was in bed and felt the bed moving back and forth,” Linda Fitzgerald of Ashburn, Ont., said. “He came in at 11:01 p.m. and I asked him if he had felt the earthquake and he had not. Good to know I am not losing it totally.”

‘Thought I might have been dreaming;

Casandra Burke said she was falling asleep Tuesday night when she felt a “slight vibration.”

“I was confused. I thought I might have been dreaming but now reading that there was an earthquake that makes sense,” the Scarborough resident said.

‘My dogs suddenly turned around and ran back inside’

Martin Randell says he noticed something “strange” around 11 p.m. last night as his patio door blinds started to sway.

“I thought it was a breeze from the door or maybe the furnace coming on,” the Etobicoke resident told CTV News in an email.

“I stopped the blinds from moving just as my dogs suddenly turned around and ran back inside and jumped on the bed. I didn’t think much of it when it happened, but it makes sense now after reading your story.”

‘My bed was shaking’

Olivia Chan lives in Newmarket, Ont., and said she was in her bed before the earthquake hit.

“I suddenly felt my bed was shaking and the bathroom door was rattling,” she said. “Since my bedroom window is facing Bathurst street, I thought there may be a big truck driving passed but it didn’t make sense to me.”

She said she only felt the earthquake for about five seconds.

‘A definite tremor’

Janet Henstock lives in Quinte West, Ont., which is more than 200 kilometres from the site of the quake. Despite that, she said she and her husband felt a “definite tremor.”

“It is surprising, given that the epicentre was such a distance to us.”