Rare Quake Rattles Sleeping Britain
The strongest earthquake to hit Britain in more than two decades was felt across large parts of the country early Wednesday, officials said. Some homes had minor damage and British media said one man had been hospitalized.
The British Geological Survey said the 5.3-magnitude quake struck at about 1 a.m. (8 p.m., Tuesday, Eastern) and was centered about 125 miles north of London.
According to reports on British news channels, a man from Lincolnshire was hospitalized with a broken pelvis after the quake brought his chimney crashing through his roof and onto his bed.
Julian Bukits of the British Geological Survey called it the most powerful quake in Britain since a 5.4 temblor hit North Wales in 1984.
"This was a very large earthquake in UK terms, but in world terms, average," Bukits told The Associated Press. "This one has been felt throughout the whole of England and southern Scotland."
Many people across the region - unaccustomed to such quakes - reported feeling their homes shaken.
"It was scary," David Somerset told The Associated Press by telephone from Driffield, around 60 miles from the epicenter. He was working on the computer at the time.
"It was a strange sensation as the room, ornaments and chest of drawers started wobbling and making a loud rumbling noise," he said.
One resident of Market Rasen, the town where the quake was centered, told Britain's Sky News, "I thought it was an explosion from the petrochemical plant here, but my wife said, 'no, that was an earthquake'".
"I was in bed at the time and suddenly there was quite a big bang and shaking that woke us up," said Laura Bocock, who lives close to Market Rasen, in northeast England. "It sounded like someone had hit the bungalow and (I) was quite frightened.
"I couldn't get back to sleep because I was scared it could happen again."
According to officials, the quake was centered 15 miles under ground, which offered enough of a rock buffer to soften the blow, even directly above in Market Rasen.
The man who told Sky he initially suspected an explosion said most of his neighbors seemed unfazed. "I saw one of my neighbors out in his pajama bottoms, but other than that, I think everybody slept through it."
"This is a moderate earthquake," Rafael Abreu of the U.S. Geological Survey told Sky News from the United States.
He described the tremor as a shallow interplate earthquake. He said his U.S.-based group initially put the magnitude at 4.7 but would likely adopt the 5.3-magnitude rating from his British counterparts.
Bukits said Britain is hit annually with about 200 quakes but only 10 percent are strong enough to be felt. A quake of magnitude 5 is capable of causing considerable damage.
The North West Ambulance service said its crews had also reported feeling the quake but had received "no actual calls from the public," said a spokeswoman, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with the service's policy.
John Jenkin of Bourne said the jolt knocked objects from the shelves of his home.
A woman in Notting Hill, a wealthy section of London, reported that her radio was bumping up and down on a shelf for several seconds.