Residents Report Feeling Canadian Earthquake

No Injuries Reported

POSTED: 1:49 pm EDT June 23, 2010

UPDATED: 7:55 pm EDT June 23, 2010

HARTFORD, Conn. -- A magnitude-5.0 earthquake struck at the Ontario-Quebec border region of Canada on Wednesday, the U.S. Geological Survey said, shaking homes and businesses from Canada's capital in Ottawa on south to Cleveland and Cincinnati in Ohio.

Residents from Berlin, Manchester, Simsbury, Hartford and New Haven all reported feeling the earth move around 1:40 p.m.

The midday quake was felt in Canada and in a number of U.S. states, including Connecticut, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont, New Jersey and New York.

The tremors, which lasted about 30 seconds, rattled buildings in Ottawa and Toronto, as well as government offices across the Ottawa River in Gatineau, Quebec.

Buildings in Windsor were evacuated after the tremor was felt, but there were no reports of injuries or damage.

One witness said, "Things were just moving back and forth. I mean, I had my hand on a mouse and my cursor was moving. We were laughing because I couldn't keep my cursor straight and I'm like, 'Look at my hand I'm not doing that.' Then we all started feeling it."

The U.S. Geological Survey says its latest information shows the 30-second-long quake was magnitude-5.0, not 5.5 as originally thought. It was centered about 40 miles north of Ottawa. Officials from the USGS said because of the bedrock under the residents of Connecticut, it is possible the shaking from Canada could have made its way into the state.

The USGS said the quake occurred at a depth of about 12 miles (19.2 kilometers). The quake occurred at 1:41 p.m.

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