# Earthquake in Ottawa! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 25, 2006, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-in-ottawa/346024 "2006-02-25T03:06:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![elfbabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b782af/32.png) [@elfbabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfbabe)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2006, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-in-ottawa/346024/1 "2006-02-25T03:06:04Z")
Or, more properly, 7 km north of Thurso, Quebec. [Report here](http://seismo.nrcan.gc.ca/sig_eq_report/2006/20060225.013922/20060225.013922_e.php). This was my first earthquake, so it was very exciting. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2006, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-in-ottawa/346024/2 "2006-02-25T03:17:59Z")
4.5 magnitude, ehh? Not too bad for your first time. ---
**Author:** ![Pyroette](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/90db22/32.png) [@Pyroette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pyroette)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2006, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-in-ottawa/346024/3 "2006-02-25T03:30:54Z")
And I missed it! Of all the times to have an earthquake, when I’m out of town… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Aguecheek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@Aguecheek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aguecheek)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2006, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-in-ottawa/346024/4 "2006-02-25T03:34:05Z")
I don’t really follow Richter scale magnitudes (never had a reason to). How bad is 4.5? My parents are there. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2006, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-in-ottawa/346024/5 "2006-02-25T03:40:06Z")
> [@Aguecheek](#): > > I don’t really follow Richter scale magnitudes (never had a reason to). How bad is 4.5? My parents are there. Nothing to fret over. I’ve slept through bigger earthquakes. Hell, I’ve been awake through bigger earthquakes and still not noticed them. ---
**Author:** ![Syntropy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Syntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syntropy)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2006, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-in-ottawa/346024/6 "2006-02-25T03:41:45Z")
4.5 will rattle the windows and maybe shake the knick knacks off a shelf or two. The interesting thing about earthquakes is how it affects your temporal perspective. 4 seconds can seem like forever when it’s full of earthquake. ---
**Author:** ![SavageNarce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@SavageNarce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SavageNarce)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2006, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-in-ottawa/346024/7 "2006-02-25T03:42:34Z")
> [@Aguecheek](#): > > I don’t really follow Richter scale magnitudes (never had a reason to). How bad is 4.5? My parents are there. From the cite in the OP: > [@](#): > > It is very unlikely that an earthquake of magnitude less than 5 could cause any damage. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2006, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-in-ottawa/346024/8 "2006-02-25T03:43:53Z")
I miss earthquakes. ---
**Author:** ![elfbabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b782af/32.png) [@elfbabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfbabe)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2006, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-in-ottawa/346024/9 "2006-02-25T03:44:05Z")
> [@Aguecheek](#): > > How bad is 4.5? My parents are there. 4.5 is strong enough that we grabbed the ferrets and ran outside just in case something bad happened, but weak enough that people on the street were shouting things like “Hey, was that an earthquake?” rather than “Is everyone ok?” My boyfriend called his mom to make sure that she and his grandmother were all right, but only because they have previous health conditions and might have reacted badly to being startled by it. It’s late now, so I’d say wait 'till tomorrow to call and ask, “Hey, didja feel that?” ---
**Author:** ![Aguecheek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@Aguecheek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aguecheek)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2006, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-in-ottawa/346024/10 "2006-02-25T03:44:53Z")
> [@SavageNarce](#): > > It is very unlikely that an earthquake of magnitude less than 5 could cause any damage. Ooh. Missed that. Thanks guys! Now I can think about how fun it must have been. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2006, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-in-ottawa/346024/11 "2006-02-25T03:48:31Z")
> [@Johnny L.A.](#): > > I miss earthquakes. For reals? I’ve personally never felt enough to miss them. Twenty-two years in California and I’ve felt _four_ earthquakes. Whoop-de-do. ---
**Author:** ![Tikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5daacb/32.png) [@Tikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tikki)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2006, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-in-ottawa/346024/12 "2006-02-25T03:54:28Z")
“Oooohhhhh! Foot massage!” ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2006, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-in-ottawa/346024/13 "2006-02-25T04:07:03Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > For reals? Oh, yeah. I like that Nature reminds us from time to time that we live on an active planet. Whenever there’s an earthquake (or _was_ one, since I’ve only felt one small one since I’ve been in the PNW) I think about the geology involved and what an awesome world we live in. (Earth is my favourite planet.) I guess I’m kind of like the cows on the California Cheese commercials. But I did get out of bed for the Northridge quake. I had to do a bit of cleaning up after that one. And knowing that people died made that one not-fun. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2006, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-in-ottawa/346024/14 "2006-02-25T04:52:45Z")
People in Montreal have reported feeling it, but I didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2006, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-in-ottawa/346024/15 "2006-02-25T05:02:38Z")
> [@Johnny L.A.](#): > > But I did get out of bed for the Northridge quake. I had to do a bit of cleaning up after that one. And knowing that people died made that one not-fun. The only big earthquake I’ve ever been through occurred in the middle of the day, I was already up. Earth is my favorite planet too, but…I don’t know, I guess I just can’t care about quakes. Like I said, I’ve only ever felt four of them that I can recall, and the last was, geez, it must have been at least twelve years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2006, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-in-ottawa/346024/16 "2006-02-25T05:10:29Z")
> [@matt\_mcl](#): > > People in Montreal have reported feeling it, but I didn’t. We’re still talking about the earhquake, right? ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2006, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-in-ottawa/346024/17 "2006-02-25T05:13:22Z")
> [@Johnny L.A.](#): > > But I did get out of bed for the Northridge quake. I had to do a bit of cleaning up after that one. And knowing that people died made that one not-fun. Huh. You must have been farther away from the center of that one than I was, because it scared the living shit outta me and everybody in the neighborhood. We didn’t have any damage to speak of, but that was a pretty sizable quake. It wouldn’t have been quite so bad if it hadn’t been 4:30 in the morning, though! A 4.5 would be an interesting ride, but nothing to worry about. I don’t think there’s anything in the way of earthquake activity around here, though. OH well. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2006, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-in-ottawa/346024/18 "2006-02-25T05:23:01Z")
> [@whiterabbit](#): > > Huh. You must have been farther away from the center of that one than I was… Do you know where the Sony Studios are? I lived up the street from there, by the 405/10 interchange. The freeway fell down just a little east of my apartment. ---
**Author:** ![Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/779978/32.png) [@Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amazon_Floozy_Goddess)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2006, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-in-ottawa/346024/19 "2006-02-25T07:18:21Z")
I wonder where the fault runs. I live in Waterloo, Ont. Nothing felt here. ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2006, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-in-ottawa/346024/20 "2006-02-25T07:47:36Z")
Didn’t feel anything in Toronto. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earthquake-in-ottawa/346024.md?page=2)