Tara Jeffrey
Some residents may have been a little rattled over the weekend after a 2.4 magnitude earthquake was felt in the area Sunday morning.
Chris Boucher, Seismic Analyst with Natural Resources Canada, confirmed the incident happened around 11:30 a.m. While the epicentre of the quake was across the St. Clair River, near Marysville, Michigan (42.9N, 82.5W), it was felt in areas like Kimball, and Port Huron, Michigan, and as far as 5km WNW of Corunna.
“At that magnitude you’re talking about usually people will describe it as hearing a loud bang, followed by shaking,” Boucher noted. “You’re definitely not looking at anything that would be damaging; that’s more something in the magnitude 5 range.”
Dozens of residents posted their experiences in a Corunna Community Group on Facebook Sunday — noting a loud bang, shaking, and rattling felt in their homes.
Others didn’t feel a thing.
That's common, said Boucher, pointing to factors like building structure, and local geology.
“It’ll depend a lot on what kind of a building you’re in, so different frequencies will vibrate different buildings,” Boucher explained. “So depending on what building you’re in, the height of the building you’re in...it can depend even just on the ground you’re on.
“For example, if you have really soft soil that’s overlying a really hard bedrock, some of the waves could get amplified," he added. "If you’re standing on really hard rock, you might not feel it as much as someone who is standing on soft soil.”
The event marked the second earthquake of similar magnitude felt by Corunna residents this year. Back on May 23, a 2.5 magnitude earthquake was reported by a number of residents, Boucher said.
“I would say this is an area where you don’t generally see earthquakes very often, but they’re not unheard of,” he said, adding that residents are encouraged to report their experiences to Earthquakes Canada’s website.
“And if you do feel an earthquake, it’s important to remember those three steps,” he added, “to drop, cover and hold on.”