Natural Resources Canada says their equipment shows no indication of an earthquake in the Woodstock area
By Jim Dumville, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter and Sandra Hanson
There’s still no answer as to why the new year kicked off with a bang for numerous residents of Woodstock, N.B. and surrounding communities. In the mid-afternoon on Jan. 1, several residents from Millville to Florenceville-Bristol jumped on social media to report the sound of a bang and a tremor rattling their homes on New Year’s Day.
Woodstock Police Chief Mark Bennett said his force received “a number of calls” reporting a potential explosion.
Bennett said early indications point to a tremor from a small earthquake, but that has not been confirmed.
However, officials from Natural Resources Canada reported their equipment failed to record any indication of an earthquake in the Woodstock area.
“We had a previous request for information about shaking felt in the same region and checked our data carefully,” said Allison Bent, Research Scientist – Seismologist with the Canadian Hazards Information Service. “We did not record any earthquakes in the Woodstock region on Jan. 1 and therefore cannot confirm the cause of the shaking.”
Bent suggested several events, including heavy traffic, blasting (construction, quarries) and some weather phenomena that often feel like small earthquakes.
The police department released a statement shortly before 5 p.m., Jan. 1, addressing the issue.
Woodstock Police Force has been receiving numerous reports of a loud “boom” and rumbling,” Bennett said in the statement.
“Many were concerned that it may have been an explosion. At this point in time, it is believed to have been a small earthquake or tremor. No damage has been reported. Thank you,” the chief said.
Bennett said the New Year’s Day tremors reminded him of a phenomenon known as frost quakes, which occurred in Ontario in 2020.
He explained that frost quakes (cryoseism) occur during heavy rains and significant temperature swings when ground temperatures range from well below to significantly above freezing.
Reports rolling in from a region as vast as Millville to Woodstock appear to eliminate heavy traffic as a cause of the earth-shaking event.
While some callers expressed concern that the bang and house-rattling noise may be an explosion, Bennett said the damage from any explosion affecting that wide an area should be evident.
Residents from several Woodstock areas, including Chelsey Cerro, told the River Valley Sun they felt and heard something.
“I only heard and felt the first [bang]. It felt like thunder but more. I asked my husband, Mike, ‘Did you feel that?'” Cerro said. “It almost felt like someone had driven into my garage. And we were in the basement so upstairs it would have been much louder.”
Cerro reported feeling a more minor tremor shortly after 5 p.m. Wednesday.
Realtor Kerry Culberson was at her office in downtown Woodstock when she heard a large bang, and the building shook.
“I was at my office working away and it felt like something hit the building,” she said. “I immediately got up and walked around the building expecting the worst. But nothing … I checked the clock, it was 3:28 p.m.”
Joy Hanson, who lives on Beardsley Road south of Woodstock, said the noise captured her attention.
“It sounded like an explosion, huge sound,” recalled Hanson. “I felt it a bit while sitting in my chair but [it was] more of the loud sound that startled me.”
