Earthquake shakes parts of B.C. and Alberta, cause being investigated
Quake was felt in Prince George, B.C. and Grande Prairie, Edson and Whitecourt, Alta.
A 4.7 magnitude earthquake shook parts of Alberta and B.C. Thursday morning.
The quake was originally reported by Earthquakes Canada as a 5.2 magnitude before the measurement was adjusted. It was recorded at 8:41 a.m. MT (7:41 a.m. PT) approximately 93 kilometres southeast of Grande Prairie and 345 kilometres west of Edmonton.
According to Earthquakes Canada, it had a depth of 7.1 kilometres and was felt in Edson, Grande Prairie and Whitecourt, Alta., and as far west as Prince George, B.C., 200 kilometres from the epicentre.
Sarah Holland was working at her home office in the Hart neighbourhood of Prince George when she felt the shaking.
"I was wondering for a moment if a neighbour who was blowing snow accidentally blew it against my house, but it kept on going," she said. "It felt like a rumbling."
Holland said the shake was under a minute but lasted "longer than I expected." It shook her desk but was not strong enough to knock anything over, nor was it felt by the other two people in her house, she said.
Earthquakes Canada seismologist Tammy Mulder said she suspects the quake to be induced, caused by hydraulic fracturing (or fracking) activity in the area. The Alberta Energy Regulator says it is investigating whether that is the case.
Fracking is a process where water, sand and chemicals are blasted at high pressure for more than two kilometres underground to release natural gas trapped in rock formations. It is a known cause of earthquakes, including four detected in five days in the Fort St. John, B.C., area earlier this month.
Earthquakes Canada says it has not received any reports of damage from the quake. According to its magnitude scale, quakes between 3.5 and 5.4 are "often felt, but rarely cause damage."