Penticton residents may have felt a small shake Thursday afternoon.
A 2.45 magnitude earthquake was confirmed to have hit Penticton at 4:45 p.m. by Natural Resources Canada.
“It was a relatively small event, but it was quite widely felt because it was very close to Penticton, just a few kilometres to the east of the town,” said Trevor Allen, a seismologist with Natural Resources Canada.
Due to the nature of earthquakes, it’s hard to predict whether or not the small shake will be an isolated event according to Allen, however, he said around two or three earthquakes of this magnitude are generally expected in the area every year.
“The difference with this one was that it was so close to the town, which is why it was so widely felt,” Allen said. “(More quakes) are certainly something that we can’t rule out, but it’s a good reminder that we do live in earthquake country and it’s always good to be prepared for earthquakes.”
Natural Resources had received around 10 reports on their online reporting system by 6 p.m. Thursday.
Many took to social media saying they felt the shake minutes after it happened including Dan Ashton MLA for Penticton.
