OTTAWA,ON EARTHQUAKE?
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One of the most severe earthquakes ever recorded in Eastern Ontario rocked the region around 1:45 p.m. on Wednesday, swaying buildings and pushing pictures off the wall across the area.
The United States Geological Survey pegged the tremors as reaching magnitude 5, which is severe enough to cause building damage. Several government buildings in downtown Ottawa were evacuated in the moments after the quake, although most people were let back in after only a few minutes.
Geologists say there could be aftershocks around magnitude 2 in the hours after the quake, which had an epicentre in Val-de-Bois, Que., about 85 kilometres north of Ottawa.
Tweets talked about evacuations, most of them temporary, although Algonquin College kept buildings closed until 5 p.m. One person tweeted that the Blossom Park high school graduation was briefly interrupted by the tremors.
“The Roger Guindon building of uOttawa was evacuated after the earthquake, we’re back now thankfully,” tweeted Jason Anthony Tetro.
Thirty seconds of tremors
Tremors in Ottawa lasted about 30 seconds, with thousands of tweets talking about the sensations and the damage that each person felt in the area. Power was also knocked out in many areas of the city temporarily, although it was restored within an hour and a half of the quake.
Early reports from area hospitals indicated surgeries were proceeding as usual. One doctor who works at CHEO, Eric Benchimol, told CTV Ottawa by Twitter that no evacuations took place and work was continuing on patients.
Although the O-Train was pulled off the tracks as staff checked for damage, VIA trains began moving again through the busy Montreal to Quebec corridor. Officials said the vehicles may have reduced speeds for the time being. However, trains between Toronto and Montreal are still awaiting CN track inspections before running again.
Residents as far away as North Bay, upstate New York and Vermont felt the shake.
With files from The Canadian Press
