Memories of NB’s biggest earthquake are still fresh 40 years later

New Brunswickers and federal scientists celebrate the 40th anniversary of a ground-shattering moment in the county’s history.

“It was a normal Saturday morning, until the house started shaking and we heard the deafening sound of an express train,” recalls Tami Caselli, who lived in Nassunworth, south of Fredericton.

At 8:53 AM AT, on January 9, 1982, the largest earthquake ever recorded in New Brunswick hit the remote forests of Miramichi Highlands, north of Route 108, midway between Newcastle and Blaster Rock.

According to a reprint of a research paper originally published in the spring of 1982 on Natural Resources Canada, its magnitude was 5.7, which is at the top end of a moderately strong earthquake, and was felt by people all over the world. New Bronze.

Some of the federal scientists who studied the Miramichi earthquakes and wrote the original report in 1982, from left, are FM Anglin, Peter Basham, Bob Wetmiller and Anne Stevens. (Canada Natural Resources)

It was strong enough that many people have vivid memories of that morning.

Six-and-a-half-year-old Colin Leger was playing with LEGO at home in Cocagne when a wrought-iron railing in his basement began to shock and light fixtures began to sway.

Rebecca Chase was eating cereal in the kitchen with her siblings in Drummond. Moments ago, their pet cat Howard was “losing” him in the front lawn. Their father hurried to make sure everyone was okay.

“There was a roar that sounded like the oil furnace was exploding,” said Carolyn Walker of Fredericton.

She and her husband wondered if the Mactaquac Dam would hold and put an emergency evacuation bag near the front door.

Don Harris was living near Saint John at the time. It was thought that there had to be a bulldozer outside causing the house to vibrate.

It would have started with a loud noise, followed by small tremors, and then a secondary wave a few seconds later, said Maurice Lamontani, a seismologist for the federal government.

“It was definitely going to be a big jolt,” he said.

Most people responded by running outside, Lamontani said.

Federal government seismologist Maurice Lamontane, on an active fault line in Nevada. (Provided by Maurice Lamontani)

In fact, it’s best to stay home if that’s where you are when the earthquake strikes, he pointed out, under something sturdy like a desk or table, to avoid hitting falling objects like loose bricks.

Preparing for an earthquake also means having a 72-hour emergency kit, he said.

Lamontani said New Brunswick residents were not used to earthquakes. But they will become more familiar with them in the coming days.

A few hours after the first earthquake on January 9, 1982, the residents had not yet recovered from their astonishment.”

By the next morning, 80 aftershocks were detected at the Edmundston Seismic Activity Station.

Scientists from across eastern Canada and New England weren’t sure what to expect next and were mobilized to get to the epicenter and gather more data.

It wasn’t easy.

Temperatures were around minus 25 degrees Celsius and the county government had to send plows on logging roads to clear the deep snow.

It took about a week to install all the portable seismometers.

The report stated that they “developed the active area”, and “monitor it from all sides and directly from the top.”

A second earthquake with the magnitude of the first struck early Monday evening.

There were 237 aftershocks in a roughly 25-hour period between January 13-14 and about four earthquakes per hour for a 10-day period.

The report said field workers near the epicenter felt sharp tremors and heard thunder-like rumbles almost every day.

But no indication of any ground disturbances or movement was found in the adjacent cabins, which were all uninhabited.

The report stated that “the damage was very minor, although there were some micro-cracks but no structural damage to the buildings up to 100 kilometres.”

New Brunswick earthquake locations from 1970 to 1982, from a report on the January 9, 1982 earthquakes centered in northern New Brunswick. (Canada Natural Resources)

Lamontani said the earthquakes caused cracks in the walls and small objects to fall in the nearest community, Doaktown, about 60 kilometers away, but nothing major.

Newer buildings hold up well in moderate earthquakes, he said, but if it happened under a city, there would have been damage.

An earthquake of similar magnitude hit the Cornwall, Ontario, area in 1944, Lamontani said, causing a great deal of damage.

The Miramichi earthquake was also felt across Prince Edward Island and in parts of Nova Scotia, eastern Quebec and New England, 350 kilometers away, according to Natural Resources Canada.

Few occupants of tall buildings felt it was 700 kilometers away, in Ottawa and New York City.

Lamontani said the accident is a reminder of the potential for earthquakes in this region.

He said there’s no way to predict when it will happen, but there is a good chance it will happen within a 50-year period.

He said there were moderate earthquakes in southwest New Brunswick in 1904, and Moncton in 1855.

Lamontagne compiled a more detailed report on the Miramichi earthquakes, which includes accounts from postmasters across eastern Canada, as well as news clippings and engineering reports collected in 1982, but never published.

He said the new report will be freely available to the public on the Natural Resources Canada website in about a month.

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