New Year’s earthquake ‘felt like a vehicle hit the house,’ says Twillingate resident

The star in the centre of this map shows the epicenter of Wednesday’s earthquake. (Earthquakes Canada)

The new year started off with a bang, but not the kind Newfoundland and Labrador is used to. A 2.8-magnitude earthquake shook Notre Dame Bay Wednesday, and confused nearby residents.

Danny Bath of Twillingate was in his basement office just after 2:00 p.m. NT when he felt what he called “a huge bang.”

“[My] first thought was, ‘OK, did the furnace explode?'” Bath told CBC Radio’s Newfoundland Morning. 

Bath said the quake almost felt like a vehicle hit his house. Looking for the source of the shake, he put his boots on and went outdoors.

That’s when Bath found he wasn’t the only one who felt it.

He said all of his neighbours were outside, throwing around different scenarios as to what might have caused rumble. Eventually, Bath said, they all agreed “there’s nothing else that could have been.”

Natural Resources Canada confirmed that the earthquake was too small to cause any damage, but Bath is still shocked by the impact he felt.

“I’ve never been involved in an earthquake, so I really don’t know how to react,” said Bath.

How did it happen?

Allison Bent, a seismologist with Natural Resources Canada, told CBC Radio’s On The Go that the sound and impact residents felt can be attributed to the reaction of the building someone is in or near at the time.

“One of the types of seismic waves is similar to sound waves,” said Bent. “So there may be some energy transfer to the atmosphere, but it’s more likely the building itself.”

She added that ancient faults below the surface of Notre Dame Bay may have reactivated and slid together, causing the earthquake.

Wednesday’s quake was so small that it didn’t rupture the Earth’s surface, so Bent said it’s difficult to associate it with a specific fault. The activity was recorded at seismograph stations in St. John’s, Deer Lake, eastern Quebec and elsewhere in Atlantic Canada.

Earthquakes are sparse in Atlantic Canada, and Bent says there’s nothing to worry about.

“It’s rare,” said Bent. “It’s just enough to cause excitement for a day or two, and then that’s usually the end of it.”

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