Today’s 5.0 M earthquake centred near Val-des-Bois, Quebec, is one of 18 earthquakes over 2.0 M in the area since January 2005, according to data from the Natural Resources Canada earthquake database. The area has shown steady seismic activity over the past five and a half years, with earthquakes ranging from undetectable to 4.5 M (in Thurso in February 2006). A 3.2 M earthquake occurred in the Val-des-Bois area March 6 of this year, and another of 2.6 M was centred several kilometres away Jan. 13. Data show a pattern of earthquakes every six months on average in an area extending east of Ottawa along the Ottawa river and northward. Earthquakes have been felt in Alfred, Buckingham, Thurso, Papineauville, Maniwaki, l’Orignal, Hawkesbury, and Wakefield. Patterns of earthquakes can indicate movement of faults or margins of techtonic plates, meaning residents of the western Quebec and eastern Ontario area may be in for more and stronger earthquakes for several years to come.
See also seismogram of today’s earthquake.