5.0-magnitude quake hits Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa Special

Toronto - Southern Ontario and parts of Quebec and New York have just experienced a earthquake measuring at 5.0 magnitude. The seats were rumbling at 1:41 p.m ET. Wednesday as a mild earthquake hit Toronto and other parts of southern Ontario.

A 5.0 magnitude earthquake hit central Canada and several U.S. states. The epicentre was located 61 km north of Ottawa. Sitting at my desk reporting I watched my computer screen doing a jig on the desk. See the YouTube clip above for a video report of a user known as EmpireofMInd taping the earthquake affecting his home in Ottawa. Twitter feeds say that Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto all felt the quake at the same time. The Ottawa Globe and Mail newsroom has evacuated their offices, and City Hall was also evacuated. Twitter feeds are stating that it was felt for 30 seconds in Markham and Thornhill. The Ottawa Citizen Twitter feed reports tremors were felt as far as Albany, NY and Flint, MI. The New York Times says the quake was felt as far away as Vermont. There have been some reports of power outages across Ontario and patchy phone service. This earthquake was one of the largest quakes felt in eastern Canada for several decades.

USGS

The epicentre of the earthquake affecting Central Canada on Wednesday June 23

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The mild rumbling shook the floors in my office. There is no damage in my area. As news comes in this will be updated. CP24 reports a second earthquake was felt in the Ottawa-Gatineau area too. The City of Toronto released a statement about the earthquake affecting the city, writing: "The City has received no calls concerning bridge, building or other infrastructure problems."

Photo courtesy U.S. Geological Survey, National Earthquake Information Center

On Wednesday in the early afternoon, an earthquake struck Southern Ontario, parts of Quebec and New York state. The earthquake's epicenter was about 61 km (38 miles) north of Ottawa near the Quebec-Ontario border.

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The epicenter is at 45.955°N, 75.546°W. That is 61 km from Ottawa, 58 km from Hull , Quebec, 52 km from Gatineau, Quebec and 49 km from Cumberland, Ontario. The quake was at a 19.2 km depth. Coincidentally, this earthquake struck on the same date (June 23) as one that hit Vancouver Island on June 23, 1946. The Vancouver Island quake was a 7.3-magnitude earthquake.