'Earthquake swarm' shakes New Brunswick village- like 'a bunch of dynamite going off,' resident says

March 14, 2012 – CANADA - Residents in a small southwestern New Brunswick community may continue to feel minor earthquakes for several more days or even weeks, according to a Natural Resources Canada seismologist. McAdam has been hit with four small earthquakes since Saturday in what is known as an “earthquake swarm.” “Certainly we are seeing what we are calling an earthquake swarm,” said John Adams, a seismologist with Natural Resources Canada. “It is a number of earthquakes all of similar and small size all happening in the McAdam area.” The first earthquake happened at 1:40 a.m. on March 10, which had a magnitude of 2.4. Three minutes later, an aftershock with a magnitude of 1.4 was recorded. Two more earthquakes were recorded on Tuesday within roughly 20 minutes of each other. The small quakes had magnitudes of 2.0 and 1.9 respectively. Adams said these small earthquakes could happen for several more days or even weeks. “We are absolutely certain that they are earthquakes that are underground. They are unpredictable. Of course you don’t know when the next one is going to happen,” he said. Earthquake swarms often happen in Ontario and Canada’s North, Adams said, but do not pose risks. These minor quakes are still unsettling for many people who live in the area. Gloria Nason said her house hasn’t sustained any damage and the only noticeable effect was a picture falling from the wall. But she said the events are scary. “We had two very large bursts of something, they are just like great big bangs like an explosion, very eerie, very scary,” she said. She said it felt like “a bunch of dynamite going off.” –CBC

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