A 3.8-magnitude earthquake struck northwest Alberta on Thursday startled some residents

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Grande Prairie, Alta., resident Stephanie Brown says it sounded like her entire apartment shook Thursday evening.

“From my kitchen area, it sounded like a crack in the wall, but there was no obvious damage…and outside, a dog started barking,” Brown said.

According to Earthquakes Canada, a 3.8 magnitude earthquake occurred about 35 kilometers south of Grande Prairie around 6:30 PM EDT on Thursday. The quake was widely felt across the region, with the federal agency receiving more than 30 reports, including two from B.C.

“This was, of course, a fairly large event, but not out of the ordinary — at least for this region,” said Brindley Smith, a seismic analyst with Natural Resources Canada (NRC) Canadian Hazard Information Service.

People may not always notice it, but since 2019, more than 15 events of this size or larger have occurred within 50 kilometers of the July 9 quake’s epicenter.

For Brown, Thursday marked the second quake she felt in 13 years of living in Grande Prairie, about 390 kilometers northwest of Edmonton.

Earthquakes Canada, part of Natural Resources Canada, suspects Thursday’s quake was linked to industry. (Submitted by Earthquakes Canada)

Jason Johnston, a long-time resident of the village of Grovedale, about 20 kilometers south of the city, was closest to the quake site. It amazed him.

“I was lying in bed and the whole trailer shook,” Johnston told CBC News.

He added that it looked like someone had climbed onto the deck, but “I looked outside and there was no one there.”

He said Johnston did not realize an earthquake had actually occurred until he checked Facebook later Thursday evening.

Smith, of the Norwegian Refugee Council, said the effects of a roughly 4.0-magnitude quake are sometimes felt hundreds of kilometers away.

Human activity is suspected as the cause

The Canadian Earthquakes Association suspects Thursday’s event is related to the industry. The Alberta Geological Survey, a branch of the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER), deemed the earthquake to have a “known cause.”

AER Directive 065, which took effect March 31, requires businesses to engage in mitigation protocols when “events” occur, an agency spokesperson told CBC News in an email.

In this case, “the reporting operator took those mitigation measures,” they said.

Known industry-triggered or industry-related earthquakes are common in Alberta, northeastern British Columbia and other oil and gas-rich regions, according to Rebecca Sowinsko, a research scientist working for the NRC’s Geological Survey of Canada.

She said fracking and wastewater disposal can cause earthquakes.

“As we inject fluids into those faults and those fractures, the pressure increases within those areas and that causes what is known as slippage or failure along those fractures,” Swinsko said.

She said scientists and operators have made “enormous technological advances” over the past decade in an attempt to reduce the risk of earthquakes caused by industry, but the risk will always remain.

“Yes, this is not ideal. Yes, it will likely continue,” Swinsko said. “But we have regulations in place that limit the potential for those larger events to occur.”

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