Canada
Ontario earthquake rattles parts of the provice
[caption id="attachment_66183" align="aligncenter" width="612"] Ontario earthquake rattles parts of the provice[/caption]
An earthquake that struck a wide area northwest of Ottawa on Friday morning could be felt in Toronto and across the GTA.
Many Canadians in the effecteed areas report their homes or offices were literally shaking at around 9:45am.
Reports came in from Mississauga, Maple, Toronto, Oshawa, and Lake Simcoe.
Earthquakes Canada again revised its original report Friday, saying it registered a 5.2-magnitude temblor with an epicentre located about 17 kilometres northeast of Shawville, Que., about an hour's drive outside the national capital.
The first report said a 4.8 magnitude quake was centred near the town of Braeside, Ont., Updates raised that to 5.1 and then 5.2 and shifted the epicentre as the agency fine-tuned its data.
Less than 10 minutes after the first quake, a 4.2-magnitude aftershock was also recorded.
Twitter erupted with reports of buildings shaking in Ottawa for several seconds.
Ontario Provincial Police in Arnprior, Ont., not far from the epicentre, say they have received no reports of damage.
The quake was slightly stronger than the last one of significance to hit the region -- a magnitude 5.0 earthquake that was felt on the afternoon of June 23, 2010.
Posted 2 hours ago – U.S. Geological Survey
An earthquake with magnitude 5.0 occurred near Aylmer, Québec, Canada at 13:43:22.04 UTC on May 17, 2013. (This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.)
Recommended actions
Excerpted from ready.govAfter:
- Expect aftershocks. These secondary shockwaves are usually less violent than the main quake but can be strong enough to do additional damage to weakened structures and can occur in the first hours, days, weeks, or even months after the quake.
- Look for and extinguish small fires. Fire is the most common hazard after an earthquake.
- Be aware of possible tsunamis if you live in coastal areas. These are also known as seismic sea waves (mistakenly called "tidal waves"). When local authorities issue a tsunami warning, assume that a series of dangerous waves is on the way. Stay away from the beach.
- Be careful when driving after an earthquake and anticipate traffic light outages.