By David Boles, St Albert Gazette, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Residents living just north of the Alberta capital may have felt the ground shake beneath them on more than one occasion in the last few weeks.
Several earthquakes have been felt in central and northern Alberta, including one in Sturgeon County on April 18 that Earthquakes Canada says registered at a magnitude of 4.1.
While relatively rare, earthquakes in Wild Rose Country are not uncommon.
“There are natural earthquakes, that are related to the movement of tectonic plates off the west coast were plates are sliding past one another and colliding,” said John Cassidy, an earthquake seismologist with Natural Resources Canada.
Another tremor to hit rural Alberta came on Saturday, when a 3.8 magnitude earthquake struck northeast of Fort Saskatchewan.
Earthquakes Canada says the first quake was industry-related, something Cassidy says is an example of an induced earthquake.
“(These are) earthquakes that are related to human activity, oil and gas, or injected wells,” said Cassidy.
Both quakes to strike Alberta registered around 4 on the Richter scale, which Earthquakes Canada says are often felt, but rarely cause any damage. Other quakes have struck north of Edmonton, with those registering anywhere from 2.7 to 3.4 on the Richter scale.
While those may be caught by a seismograph, they aren’t generally felt.
For tremors that are larger and may cause danger, Cassidy says there are a few things you can do to protect yourself.
“If you feel shaking, drop, cover and hold on. You want to get underneath a table, a desk and hold on. The reason we hold on is that in the event of very large earthquakes, furniture can move around. And so you want to protect yourself from falling items,” said Cassidy.
Links of Interest:
- String of industry-related earthquakes strike north of Edmonton – Global News
- Alberta Earthquake Dashboard
- British Columbia Earthquake Report
- Articles about, or mentioning, industry related earthquakes
Top image credit: Multiple earthquakes have rattled the area around Edmonton and Earthquakes Canada knows why – courtesy David Boles
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