A 4.4 magnitude earthquake struck the Bas-Saint-Laurent, Gaspésie, and Côte-Nord regions on Thursday morning. Earthquakes Canada reported that the epicenter of the quake, which occurred at 10:21 a.m., was situated 25 kilometers northeast of Mont-Joli, Quebec, in the St. Lawrence River. The tremor was felt in areas as distant as Rivière-du-Loup, Rimouski, Baie-des-Chaleurs, Baie-Comeau, and Sept-Îles.
The City of Matane confirmed on Facebook that there were no reports of damage following the earthquake. Although the CLSC Matane was evacuated as a precaution, everyone returned to the building, as stated by Santé Québec Bas-Saint-Laurent.
An expert mentioned that the region does not often experience moderate earthquakes. Christopher Boucher, a seismic analyst at Natural Resources Canada, explained that the Lower St-Lawrence area is considered a moderate earthquake zone due to ancient fault lines that can reactivate and cause tremors. Boucher emphasized that daily seismic activity is usually of lower magnitude, but the impact of such earthquakes varies based on proximity and soil type.
The last earthquake of a similar magnitude in the area was reported in 1999 south of Sept-Îles. Boucher encouraged individuals who felt the earthquake to fill out a form on the Earthquakes Canada website for data collection.
