‘Is there a ghost in here?’: Kitchener residents react to magnitude 3.7 earthquake near Orillia, Ont.

Some people across Ontario felt something unexpected Tuesday night. CTV’s Alexandra Holyk explains.

A magnitude 3.7 earthquake struck near Orillia, Ont. Tuesday night, sending shock waves more than 200 km away.

According to Natural Resources Canada, the quake was recorded just before 11 p.m., with a depth of around two kilometres.

“It’s been felt all the way as east as Kingston and then down through southern Ontario to Kitchener, Hamilton, St. Catharines, all the way to London, as well of course, widely felt in Toronto,” said Marieke Adams, a seismologist with Natural Resources Canada.

As of Wednesday afternoon, more than 3,000 reports had been filed by people across the province. There’s no word on any injuries or damage.

“We’re well below the threshold so we will not have any damage,” Adams added. “Though I’m sure a lot of people right in Orillia probably felt quite a strong shaking.”

Some people living in Kitchener said they were startled by the sudden shakes.

“I was just sitting here watching TV, and all of a sudden my chair started moving,” said Maureen Leblanc. “I thought, ‘Is there a ghost here?’ It was weird.”

“I felt a little rocking, swaying motion back and forth,” said Lisa Van Bekkum. “It’s very subtle, but I was like, ‘What was that?’”

Van Bekkum said she remembers the rumble all too well, having felt something similar before while living in Kitchener’s Heritage Park neighbourhood.

“It pretty much felt exactly the same — just very subtle shaking back and forth,” she said. “It’s a crazy experience, but it’s actually pretty cool when you feel it.”

Adams said earthquakes of any size in southern Ontario are rare, but not impossible.

“The last one comparable in size was near Owen Sound and I think it was 2005, so quite a long time ago now,” she said.

While the cause of the earthquake isn’t clear, Adams also confirmed Tuesday night’s tremor wasn’t a “frost quake.”

“This was a natural tectonic earthquake so that means it occurred on a fault at depth,” she said.

Adams said a frost quake happens when an area heavily saturated with water, such as a snow melt or intense rain, gets hit with a sudden deep freeze.

“All that water that was sitting there freezes,” said Adams. “As water freezes, it expands and then it starts to crack, and that’s the sound that you hear for frost quakes. They’re much different than earthquakes.”

While it’s unlikely another quake will strike anytime soon, Adams reminded residents to be prepared.

“If you do experience an earthquake, one thing to remember is to drop, take cover, and hold on until the shaking has passed.”

Anyone who may believe they felt an earthquake is urged to report it through the Natural Resources Canada website.