Magnitude-5.0 earthquake reported in Canada

17:35, 24 June 2010

TORONTO. June 24. KAZINFORM A magnitude-5.0 earthquake struck at the Ontario-Quebec border region of Canada on Wednesday, the US Geological Survey said, and homes and businesses were shaken from Canada's capital in Ottawa on south to an arc of US states.

There were no reports of injuries and there was little damage.

Morgan Moschetti, a seismologist with the USGS, said it was not unusual for an earthquake to be felt 300 miles (482 kilometers) from the epicenter and noted that the latest quake was felt in the US from Chicago to Maine.

Other states that reported feeling tremors were Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Vermont, New Hampshire, New Jersey and New York.

The epicenter of the quake was in Quebec, about 23 miles (38 kilometers) north of Cumberland, Ontario, on the Ottawa River, the USGS said.

The agency said the quake occurred at a depth of about 12 miles (19 kilometers) at 1:45 pm EDT (1741 GMT). The agency initially said the quake had a 5.5 magnitude, but later reduced it to a magnitude-5.0.

The tremors, which lasted about 30 seconds, rattled buildings in Ottawa and Toronto, as well as government offices across the Ottawa River in Gatineau, Quebec, Kazinform refers to China Daily.

See www.chinadaily.com.cn

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