Minor earthquake rattles eastern Ontario, western Quebec

Ottawa·New

People in parts of eastern Ontario and western Quebec may have felt the ground rumble their morning coffee on Wednesday.

3.2 magnitude quake hit area northwest of Hawkesbury, Ont.

A map showing a star where an earthquake occurred.
The star shows the relative position of Wednesday morning’s earthquake northeast of Ottawa on the Quebec side of the Ottawa River. (Earthquakes Canada)

People in parts of eastern Ontario and western Quebec may have felt the ground rumble their morning coffee on Wednesday.

A 3.2 magnitude earthquake shook an area northwest of Hawkesbury, Ont., on the Quebec side of the Ottawa River at 8:20 a.m., according to Earthquakes Canada.

Earthquakes under a 3.5 magnitude aren’t always felt, while those up to a 5.0 can be felt, but don’t usually cause damage.

However, it also depends on the earthquake’s depth, and Wednesday’s earthquake being a relatively shallow nine kilometres below the surface made it much more likely to be felt.

As of 11 a.m., Earthquakes Canada had 77 reports of people feeling the ground shake.

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