Magnitude 4.4 earthquake reported in Quebec, felt in New Brunswick
No damages or injuries have been reported.
Earthquakes Canada has reported a magnitude 4.4 earthquake occurred in Eastern Quebec Thursday morning at 10:21 a.m. EDT.
According to Earthquakes Canada, it was located in the St. Lawrence River near Mont-Joli at a depth of about 25 kilometres.
"There are no reports of damage, and none would be expected," Earthquakes Canada says in its report. "[The earthquake was] lightly felt in Baie Comeau, Saguenay, Riviere-du-Loup, Quebec, Bathurst, New Brunswick."
According to TVA Nouvelles, numerous residents in the Bas-Saint-Laurent, Côte-Nord, and Gaspésie areas reported feeling shaking from the tremor.
While earthquakes in this area aren't uncommon, "this region doesn't get very many earthquakes near 5M or higher," says Weather Network meteorologist Rachel Modestino.
Unique geology
"Earthquakes in this part of Canada, or closer to Montreal, might be far more devastating than we realize thanks to geology and the fact that none of the buildings have been built with earthquakes in mind," says Weather Network meteorologist Mark Robinson, who spoke to Tiegan Hobbs, a Research Scientist at the Geological Survey of Canada and Adjunct Professor at the University of British Columbia about earthquakes back in the fall.
"Experts are very concerned about that fault line and Montreal."
Editor's Note: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that the earthquake was felt in Nova Scotia. The article has been corrected to indicate that the tremor was actually felt in New Brunswick. Additionally, the depth of the earthquake has been updated from the originally reported 19 km to 25 km, in accordance with the latest report from Earthquakes Canada.