Western Canada rumbled by earthquakes Thursday morning

Story by Stephanie Swensrude • Yesterday 

Parts of Alberta and B.C. were shaken by multiple earthquakes Thursday morning, according to Earthquakes Canada.


A magnitude 5 earthquake was recorded 30 kilometres east northeast of Reno, Alta., Thursday March 16, 2023.© Earthquakes Canada

The first two quakes were recorded at 8:46 a.m.: a 4.5-magnitude earthquake, which was recorded 39 kilometres east northeast of Reno, Alta., and a 4.2-magnitude earthquake in the Peace River region.

Earthquakes Canada had originally recorded the earthquake near Reno as being 5.0-magnitude but later downgraded the rating.


Reno, a tiny rural hamlet about 40 kilometres southeast of Peace River, was shaken again just before 9 a.m. by another 4.6-magnitude earthquake recorded 35 kilometres east-northeast of the hamlet. Meanwhile, a 4.2-magnitude event was recorded in the Dawson Creek, B.C., region.

At 9:07 a.m., another earthquake of magnitude 3.8 came from the same region near Reno, according to Earthquakes Canada.

Related video: Multiple earthquakes reported in Alberta, details here (The Weather Network)

Areas. Just E southeast of Peace River in Alberta,

Duration 0:43

The Weather Network

Multiple earthquakes reported in Alberta, details here

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Social media users reported feeling the quakes in various parts of Alberta, including Fort McMurray, Slave Lake and the Edmonton region.

Earthquakes Canada said there were no reported injuries or damages as a result of the quakes.

The region that Thursday’s earthquakes came from has been no stranger to tremors in the past several months.

“The Peace River area, Fort St. John, has been known to have earthquakes,” said Mirko van der Baan, a physics professor at the University of Alberta.

The largest earthquake ever recorded in Alberta happened on Nov. 29, 2022. A 5.2-magnitude earthquake originated from the region about 30 kilometres northeast of Reno, followed by a 5.8-magnitude earthquake an hour later.

On Dec. 28, 2022, there was a 4.2-magnitude earthquake recorded about 70 kilometres south of Grande Prairie.

“The second-largest earthquake (in Alberta) was in the early 2000s, also east of Dawson Creek,” said van der Baan.