Magnitude 3.9 earthquake reported just north of Banff

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A magnitude 3.9 earthquake struck only six kilometres north-northwest of Banff at 6:33 p.m. Saturday, according to Earthquakes Canada.

The temblor struck at an estimated depth of 17.3 kilometres, directly underneath Cascade Mountain, according to the United States Geological Survey.

Initial reports of the earthquake from the U.S. agency classified it as a 4.3-magnitude temblor, before being downgraded by Canadian officials. Only 90 minutes after it shook the Rocky Mountain ground, nearly 350 people had reported to the U.S. agency they felt the earth shake.

Taimi Mulder, an earthquake seismologist with the Geological Survey of Canada and Natural Resources Canada, said tremors were large enough to be felt, but not intense enough to cause damage.

“We would say it was lightly felt in Banff at this time. We don’t have reports of damage and we wouldn’t expect to receive any, but perhaps because it’s so close to Banff, it’s possible things were knocked off shelves.”

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People in the quake zone reported feeling the “heart-stopping” tremors on social media.

Shelby Wright with the Blue Mountain Lodge in Banff said she was there at the time of the earthquake.

“We thought it was a train, since it was really short. It didn’t feel like earthquakes I’d felt back on the east coast. But it shook everything,” Wright said. “I was in Banff, and I talked to people in Canmore and they felt the exact same.”

The earthquake lasted about five seconds, Wright estimated.

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Gabriel Lunn was in his Banff home on the north side of Tunnel Mountain when the tremors began.

“I felt a massive rumble and boom,” Lunn said. “Most of town is reporting it. Long-weekenders at hotels reported buildings shaking. Neighbours are coming out of their homes checking on each other.”

In a tweet, Canmore Fire Rescue said the very large “boom” was felt in Canmore, Banff and Deadman’s Flats, with crews sent out to investigate.

Canmore fire Chief Walter Gahler said there was no damage reported as a result of the shaking. Alberta RCMP also said they had not received any immediate reports of damage.

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Seismic events are not an especially rare event in the Rocky Mountains due to tectonic plate shifting, Mulder said.

“It’s not unusual to get an earthquake in those front ranges there, but nevertheless it’s been a while since we’ve seen one of this magnitude, especially close to a population centre,” she said.

More specifics about the quake will likely be known in the next week, Mulder said.

The earthquake is among the largest Alberta quakes on record since 1985, according to Canada’s National Earthquake Database.

A June 13, 2015, quake registering at a 5.5 magnitude 155 kilometres northeast of Jasper is on record as the most intense event in the past 36 years.

jherring@postmedia.com

Twitter: @jasonfherring