People feel 2.3 magnitude earthquake off Yarmouth

May 24 quake noticed by many in Yarmouth and Digby counties

Following the rumbling noise, and by those who felt a jolt while inside their homes, came the familiar question in parts of southwestern Nova Scotia on the evening of May 24 – Was that an earthquake?

It was, says Earthquakes Canada, of Natural Resources Canada, which measured it as a 2.3-magnitude quake.

“There is nothing particularly noteworthy of the May 24 earthquake, but it was rather shallow, set at a fivekilometre depth, which may be why it was felt more widely than earthquakes of a similar magnitude,” says Steve Crane, a research scientist with the Canadian Hazards Information Service of Natural Resources Canada.

The earthquake occurred around 28 kms north of Yarmouth. In a local Facebook group, after someone made a post reporting a “long, deep rumble like thunder or an explosion” heard in Hectanooga, Digby County, amid sunny skies, others responded with what they heard and felt.

The reports came from many parts of Yarmouth and Digby counties, including Meteghan, Saulnierville, Port Maitland, St, Alphonse, Cape

St. Mary's, Salmon River, Concession, Church Point, Cedar Lake,

Lake Doucette, South Belleville, Lake George and many other areas.

“Shook my whole house, rumbling,” said one person. “Same,” responded another person. “Felt like something hit the house.”

“I heard a long loud sound and my floor shook as if a heavy truck was driving by. There was no traffic and in front over the bay, it was foggy. I thought to myself, it's a small earthquake,” said Marty Basque Simon, of Saulnierville, on the Tri-County Vanguard's Facebook page. “Shortly after I heard a shorter version of the same sound and thought maybe it was rolling thunder that was passing through... But it seems I didn't need to second guess myself.”

“My husband and I were in our living room in Cedar Lake and we heard a loud, building rumbling sound and it made our wood stove rattle,” described Leane Sweeney. “The rumble sounded like a big explosion.”

“I heard a loud rumble, like thunder,” noted Nicole Bourque. “I was in the back part of lake George.”

Several people commenting on social media said they heard rumbling sounds about three to four minutes apart.

As of May 26, in the past month there had been 549 earthquakes across Canada. Of them, 341 had been below a magnitude 2; 156 were in the two's range; 44 were in the magnitude 3 ranges and eight were a 4 or above – the strongest being a 4.4, 105 km northeast of Tungsten in the Northwest Territories.

The majority of earthquakes in Canada are not felt or noticed by the public.

“We attach the ‘felt' flag to an

earthquake, which is reported to us through a ‘Did You Feel It' report from the Earthquakes Canada website. This helps us identify the earthquakes which could be more impactful to the population and infrastructure,” explains Crane.

“Smaller earthquakes are less likely to be felt. And deeper earthquakes are also less likely to be felt. There is also some dependence on if there is population close to the earthquake epicentre."

There was another earthquake reported on the website from southwestern Nova Scotia during the past month – a 2.0-magnitude earthquake on May 2, around 19 kilometres ESE of Cornwallis Park. It was not flagged as 'felt.'

In past years there have been other earthquakes in southwestern Nova Scotia. They have included:

• June 2015: a 2.5 and a 2.9 earthquake occurred around the Digby area. It was not felt.

• July 1, 2015: a 3.8 magnitude earthquake around 42 kms northwest of Yarmouth. It was one of the top 5 ‘strongest' magnitude earthquakes recorded in Canada over a previous 30-day span at the time. It was experienced by many as a loud rumble that culminated in what sounded like a large sonic boom or explosion that jolted buildings.

• June 9, 2016: a 3.2 earthquake 19 km north of Yarmouth. Many people heard a loud rumble. In some cases, people felt their house shake or vibrate.

• Sept. 29, 2018: A 3.1 quake off the shore of Mavillette, Digby County. People experienced a loud rumbling sound, followed by what they described as a sudden bang or violent jolt. The depth of that earthquake was recorded at 10 kms.

• Feb. 10, 2021: A 2.5-magnitude earthquake, at a depth of about 18 km, occurred 32 kilometres west of Yarmouth.

“When people fill out our ‘Did You Feel It' reports, we can use this in our research to better understand future earthquakes may impact us,” says Crane. “This is an important piece of information to help us build a safer Canada from earthquakes.”

Crane says earthquakes are more commonly reported in certain locations of Canada as those seismic zones have more earthquakes occurring in them. A network of seismographs is placed all over Canada to detect numerous seismic events each year and can locate earthquakes smaller than those felt by people.

Asked why there have been several earthquakes over the years in southwestern Nova Scotia, Crane says it's because the region falls with the Northern Appalachians Seismic Zone.

And also because of something that happened long ago.

Says Crane, “The ongoing seismicity is believed to be caused by the weakening of the crust from a past collision of two tectonic plates around 440 to 480 million years ago.”