5.3

M5.3 Earthquake 45 km ESE of Peace River, CanadaNovember 30, 2022

2022-11-30 00:55:55 UTC (2022-11-30) · approx. 4:55 PM UTC-8 local

Felt by 315 people across surrounding communities. Maximum shaking intensity MMI 7.6 (severe).

MagnitudeM5.3(mww)
Time00:55 UTC4:55 PM UTC-8
Depth4.0 kmshallow crustal
Coordinates56.159°, -116.576°
Felt by315DYFI responses· max MMI 7.6
Status✓ Reviewed by USGS· green PAGER
green Alertno significant casualties or damage expected

On November 30, 2022 at 00:55 UTC, a magnitude 5.3 shallow crustal earthquake struck 45 km ESE of Peace River, Canada, at a depth of 4.0 km and coordinates 56.1593°, -116.5760°. The earthquake was reported felt by 315 peopleacross surrounding communities, with a maximum shaking intensity of Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) 7.6 (severe). The USGS PAGER system issued a green alert level for this event, indicating no significant casualties or damage expected. This earthquake was detected by 124 seismic stations with excellent location accuracy and was assigned a USGS significance rating of 621, making it a moderate-impact event. The nearest populated place is Peace River (population 5,340).

Physical scale: An earthquake of magnitude 5.3 releases seismic energy equivalent to roughly 1 kilotons of TNT. Empirical fault-scaling laws (Wells & Coppersmith, 1994) estimate the subsurface rupture length at approximately 2.7 km — a useful intuition for the size of the slip patch on the fault.

Nearest Populated Places

Peace Riverpop. 5,340
MMI 4.8 (moderate)
Grimshawpop. 2,560
MMI 4.4 (moderate)
Falherpop. 1,166
MMI 4.4 (moderate)
High Prairiepop. 2,878
MMI 4.3 (moderate)
Manningpop. 1,359
MMI 4.1 (moderate)
Fairviewpop. 3,312
MMI 4.1 (moderate)

What the Shaking Felt Like

At MMI 7.6 (severe), people in the most strongly affected areas would have experienced: Very strong shaking. Difficult to stand. Damage to weak structures; slight damage to well-built structures. Furniture broken. Fallen plaster and loose bricks.

Map showing earthquake epicenter at 56.16°, -116.58°

ShakeMap — predicted shaking intensity

Modeled ground-motion intensity contoured on the Modified Mercalli scale (MMI). Computed by the USGS from the moment-tensor solution and regional ground-motion prediction equations.

USGS ShakeMap intensity contours for the M5.3 earthquake near 45 km ESE of Peace River, Canada

Source: U.S. Geological Survey ShakeMap. View interactive ShakeMap on USGS

Did You Feel It? — community-reported shaking

Aggregated felt-report intensity from 315 citizen responses to the USGS Did You Feel It? system. Each colored zone represents the average MMI from reports in that area.

USGS DYFI community-reported intensity map for the M5.3 earthquake near 45 km ESE of Peace River, Canada

Source: U.S. Geological Survey Did You Feel It?. View on USGS · submit your own report

Population exposure (USGS PAGER)

Estimated population that experienced each level of shaking. Based on the USGS PAGER rapid impact assessment, which combines ShakeMap output with global population grids.

Shaking intensity (MMI)DescriptionPopulation exposed
MMI 3weak146
MMI 4light167,565
MMI 5moderate13,774
MMI 6strong589
MMI 7very strong2

Earthquake Details

Magnitude
5.3 mww
Depth
4.0 km
shallow crustal
Location
56.1593°N
-116.5760°E
Felt Reports
315
DYFI responses
Intensity (MMI)
7.6
severe
Community Intensity
6.0
CDI from reports

Technical Information

Event ID
us6000j5n4
Event Type
earthquake
Status
✓ Reviewed
Significance
621
Stations Used
124
Azimuthal Gap
31.0°
Min Station Distance
1.834°
RMS Residual
0.61 sec
Last Updated
2024-04-06 09:49:16 UTC

Common Questions

How strong was the magnitude 5.3 earthquake near Peace River, Canada?

The magnitude 5.3 earthquake that struck 45 km ESE of Peace River, Canada on November 30, 2022 at 00:55 UTC had a depth of 4.0 km. It was felt by 315 people with maximum shaking intensity of MMI 7.6 (severe). For context, this was a moderate earthquake that could be widely felt.

Where did the earthquake occur?

The earthquake epicenter was located at 56.1593°, -116.5760°, which is 45 km ESE of Peace River, Canada. The nearest populated place is Peace River (population 5,340).

Were there aftershocks?

Aftershock activity is monitored continuously by the USGS. Aftershock sequences from magnitude 5.3 earthquakes can continue for days to weeks and gradually diminish over time.

Authoritative source: USGS event page (event ID: us6000j5n4). All scientific values on this page are sourced verbatim from the USGS feed.

Cite this page: EarthquakeTracker.org. (2022, November 30, 2022). M5.3 Earthquake 45 km ESE of Peace River, CanadaNovember 30, 2022. Retrieved April 6, 2024 from https://www.earthquaketracker.org/earthquakes/event/us6000j5n4/