Several tire dealers interviewed by www.moderntiredealer.com felt today's 5.5 earthquake but added that their facilities were undamaged.
The earthquake centered around 40 miles north of Ottawa, Ontario, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It struck around 1:45 p.m. Eastern Time.
Paul Hyatt, president of Superior Tire & Auto, a 10-store chain based in the Toronto suburb of Scarborough, said he was driving when the quake hit. He didn't feel the tremors, but the staff at his home office did.
"They said the building started to sway."
Hyatt, a former Tire Industry Association president, says his stores were not affected "in the sense that we closed or anything, but our employees were excited by it. We heard the quake was felt as far north as Sudbury, Ontario," which is about 245 miles north of Scarborough.
Lloyd Scott, a technician at 511 Auto Centers in Perth, Ontario, said he felt the tremors. "I was leaning against the counter and I could feel the counter move."
His store was undamaged, as was 511 Auto Centers' other location, also in Perth. "But it was quite a thing. I've never experienced an earthquake before."
For more reactions to the earthquake, see Ottawa dealer unshaken by earthquake, posted earlier today, June 23.
