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The last 4.0 magnitude earthquake recorded in the region was on March 31, 1997.

The Alberta Energy Regulator said the earthquake was reported to them by Vesta Energy at 6:20 a.m.

“We are currently reviewing the events to determine if the incident is due to hydraulic fracturing activities or natural causes,” said Natalie Brodych, spokesperson with the Alberta Energy Regulator. “Vesta Energy was conducting hydraulic fracturing activities in the area, but has since stopped.”

Brodych said there was no reported impacts to public safety, infrastructure, or the environment.

Debbi McGillicky, who lives in the Mountain View area of Red Deer, said she and her husband were jarred awake by the quake.

“My husband and I were awakened at 5:55 a.m. when our bed began to shake violently. My husband shot up out of bed and exclaimed ‘what the hell was that?’,” she told Postmedia. At the time, she thought the quake was some sort of explosion.

The quake hit Red Deer and surrounding communities just before 6 a.m., knocking out power to around 4,600 Fortis Alberta customers. A spokesperson said the outage lasted for a little more than an hour.

AltaLink said a transformer at a substation south of Sylvan Lake tripped around the same time of the quake. The transmission company is still investigating exactly what caused the outage.

– with files from Ryan Rumbolt

Social media reacts to earthquake