According to Earthquakes Canada, two magnitude 5.2 earthquakes and a magnitude 5.8 earthquake were reported Tuesday
Potentially three of the largest earthquakes ever recorded in Alberta were reported in northern Alberta Tuesday.
According to Earthquakes Canada, three seismic events were recorded on Tuesday: a magnitude 5.8 earthquake and two magnitude 5.2 quakes.
"A series of earthquakes have occurred in northwestern Alberta. The largest, a M 5.8 quake, was preceded by two M5.2 quakes, and was followed by several felt events," reads a note on Earthquakes Canada's website.
Aftershocks of magnitude 5.0 were also detected around 19:55 MT.
Joseph Farrugia, seismic analyst with Natural Resources Canada, said the 5.8 magnitude quake was strong enough to potentially cause damage but so far no damage has been reported.
"Alberta is no stranger to earthquakes, but those in Alberta tend not to be this high," says Farrugia. "This is certainly one of the largest earthquakes to occur in Alberta ... unusual and certainly frightening for people living in the area."
Farrugia said smaller aftershocks were possible in the area over the next few days, though not all of them would be felt.
Earthquake reports are frequently revised. The 5.8 quake was previously reported as a 6.0. Still, a magnitude 5.8 quake would be the strongest natural quake ever reported in Alberta. Farrugia said Tuesday's report was still preliminary, but revised numbers should be available the next day.
The province's strongest natural earthquake — magnitude 5.4 — occurred in April 2001 near Alberta-B.C. border, about 40 km northeast of Dawson Creek, B.C.
A report posted by Earthquakes Canada places the location of the magnitude 5.2 earthquake about 29 kilometers east-northeast of the hamlet of Reno, Alta., which is about 360 kilometers northwest of Edmonton in the Peace River region and 200 kilometers northeast of Dawson Creek, BC
The depth of the earthquake is estimated at four kilometers and occurred at around 16:45.
A second, more significant quake was recorded around 5:55 p.m. Tuesday near Reno. It has been reported to have a magnitude of 5.8 and occurred at a depth of two kilometers.
According to the Earthquakes Canada website, the event will be "very much felt in the surrounding area". Reports from residents indicate that the quake was also felt in Edmonton, Calgary and Fort McMurray as well as other communities in Alberta and northern B.C.
"The geology to the east of the Rockies is such that it supports the transmission of seismic energy much more easily than in the Rockies and BC where the geology is quite complicated," said Farrugia.
"So it's not surprising that this quake was felt at a great distance."
Carmen Langer, a farmer in Three Creeks, Alta., lives in the area and said her house shook all day.
"I climbed my stairs from the bottom and I felt very strange on the stairs," he said. "And then I came and went into my kitchen and things were shaking and [the] chandelier was moving and the lights were moving."
Prior to Tuesday's earthquake, at least three other events were recorded in Reno, Alta. area in the last week - two earthquakes of magnitude 4.1 and one that measured a magnitude of 4.5. This article was written by EDUKASI CAMPUS.