4.5-magnitude earthquake strikes near Fort St. John

An earthquakestruck an area in northeastern B.C. close to Fort St. John on Thursday after 5 p.m. PT.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the quakehad a preliminary magnitude of 4.2 and the epicentre was22.4 kilometres southeast ofFort St. John.

Earthquakes Canada reported an initial quake of 4.5 magnitude 16 kilometres southwest of Fort St. John, followed by a 4.0-magnitude aftershock 26 kilometres southeast of the city less than an hour later.

People in Fort St. John, as well as Taylor,ChetwyndandDawson Creek reported feeling the earthquake on social media, but there are currently no reports of damage.

HonnKao, a research scientistwith the Geological Survey of Canada, said early data suggests the quake had a relatively shallow depth which is likely why the quake was widely felt.

"This is certainly an event that has been felt quite a bit by the local residents," Kao said. "Although this is a significant event for the regionI don't think it's going to cause significant damage."

Hydraulic fracturing in the area

Although it is unconfirmed what caused this earthquake, Kao said the B.C. Oil and Gas Commission is investigating ifthequake is related to hydraulic fracturing operations in the area.

Hydraulic fracturing or fracking is when water, sand and other chemicals are injected underground at a very high pressure to fracture shale rock deep underground in order to extract natural gas.

"They will have to link the location and time of this eventto theinjection operations nearby," Kao said.

This area of the country western Alberta and northeastB.C. hasa high rate of fracking-induced earthquakes,according to a study from the University of Alberta.

With files from Johanna Wagstaffe