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People in southeastern New Brunswick have been rattled by a 'swarm' of earthquakes over the past few days. The village of McAdam has been particularly hard-hit by the swarm, which intensified in early February.

Earthquake 'swarm' rattles East Coast village


Daniel Martins
Digital Reporter

Friday, February 12, 2016, 12:05 PM - People in southwestern New Brunswick have been rattled by a 'swarm' of earthquakes over the past few days.

The village of McAdam has been particularly hard-hit by the swarm, which intensified in early February. The strongest tremor has only been Magnitude 3.3, but the quakes are occurring at a very shallow depth of one or two kilometres, enough to knock plates off of cupboards and crack windows.

Earthquakes Canada lists a little more than 20 such quakes, but McAdam Mayor Frank Carroll said there have been many more that have not been strong enough to register on seismographs. Some estimates point to 20 to 30 small quakes on Monday night, with many of them not picked up by monitoring equipment located in another location 95 km away.

"Many people describe it like an explosion, almost, it's so quick," he told The Weather Network, adding Monday night was particularly active, with more than a dozen quakes. "Most of the community did not sleep very well, and there was a lot of apprehension on Tuesday."

Image: Earthquakes Canada

Image: Earthquakes Canada

Officials from Earthquakes Canada were in the village Thursday, setting up more seismographic equipment to track the quakes. Carroll said even though there is a 95 per cent chance no major earthquake is looming, village officials have been circulating instructions on what to do in the event of one, and has an emergency plan on the books.

"I don't think the community is panicked or concerned about any major quake, but I think in our minds, we also recognize that there's so little known and there is unpredictability, there's no question," he said. "I'm sure we're going to work through this, and we're looking forward to getting some better information that will help us understand what is happening ... and we'll be able to cope with it much better."

Most of the small quakes have all been within 5 km of McAdam, and are a continuation of similar 'swarm' activity that happened in the area in 2012, and again for a brief period in late 2015. Carroll said the current spate has been stronger than past ones.

WATCH: Earthquake fears in Nova Scotia

That kind of stop-start activity isn't unusual for earthquake swarms, which can last for days, weeks or months. They also aren't a reliable indicator of future quakes in the region.

"Each swarm is unique and the future size and frequency of earthquake activity in the region cannot be predicted," a statement from Earthquakes Canada says. "The current earthquake swarm is a reminder that earthquakes can occur in this region, and a larger earthquake, while unlikely, cannot be ruled out. The best advice, as always, is to know what to do before, during and after an earthquake."

Canada's West Coast borders the seismically active Cascadia Subduction Zone, where a Magnitude 9.0 quake occurred off the coast of B.C. in 1700, devastating First Nations communities in the area. 

However, Canada's eastern half is far from the edge of continental plates, and earthquakes in that area are relatively rare. Nevertheless, the East Coast does get the occasional tremor. In 1929, a Magnitude 7.2 quake off the coast of Newfoundland triggered a tsunami that killed 28 people.

SOURCES: Earthquakes Canada | Heritage Newfoundland

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