GettyAn earthquake has hit the UK for the second time in less than two weeks, leaving people’s homes ‘shaking’ as the so-called ‘Beast from the East’ rages on.
Tremors were felt across Cumbria as people took to social media to share the unusual geological event, which occurred just after 7:30am on Wednesday 28 February.
The quake lasted for around 20 seconds and people reported their ‘whole homes shaking’.
BGS.ac.ukMartin Parlett wrote on Twitter:
Having run outside in my pyjamas and wife’s slip-ons like some sort of suburban superhero, thinking someone had crashed into the side of our house, in turns out Cumbria was in fact experiencing an earthquake.
Having run outside in my pyjamas and wife’s slip-ons like some sort of suburban superhero, thinking someone had crashed into the side of our house, in turns out Cumbria was in fact experiencing an earthquake. #cockermouth #theEarthMoved
— Martin Parlett (@MartinParlett) February 28, 2018
Joe Carr added:
Had an earthquake in the Whitehaven area at around 7:40am many people have reported the same on Facebook.
The quake was felt in Whitehaven, which is in the north west of the county and people living in Cockermouth also said they felt the tremors.
No injuries have been reported and the British Geological Survey are currently investigating:
We’ve been getting reports of an ‘earthquake’ in Cumbria. We are in the process of analysing data to verify this. As soon as we know more we’ll let you know.
— BGS (@BritGeoSurvey) February 28, 2018
Meanwhile, the rest of the country has also been hit by heavy snow, with up to 13cm falling in some parts of Cumbria.
In the area, the wind chill has caused temperatures to drop to a cool minus 25C.
Many roads are closed as weather forecasters warn more snow is on its way as the ‘Beast from the East’ continues its Siberian rampage across a woefully unprepared Great British public.
GettyAn amber weather warning is in place for the east of the county while the rest has been put under a yellow warning.
The whole of the M6 motorway, which links Cumbria to Scotland is also said to be in a ‘poor condition’ and there’ve been several crashes, reports the Mirror.
Earlier this month the residents of Welsh city, Swansea, were hit with a 4.4 tremor.
Reports said some people felt ‘the ground move’ and buildings shake, much like the tremor felt in Cumbria this morning.
Peak ground velocities recorded by seismometers across the UK from the magnitude 4.4 ML earthquake in South Wales on 17/02/2018. @BritGeoSurvey @BGSseismology pic.twitter.com/oIV7id2zK8
— Brian Baptie (@BrianBaptieBGS) February 18, 2018
The tiny village of Cwmllynfell was the epicentre of the 4.4 earthquake on February 17, which was the biggest onshore UK event in 10 years, since the earthquake in Market Rasen on February 27, 2008.
The earthquake was felt by as many as 10 million Brits as far away as 200 miles from the epicentre in Cwmllynfell, being the strongest in South Wales in more than 100 years.
The earthquake was followed by two aftershocks. The British Geological Survey confirmed the first was felt at 3.09pm and had a magnitude of 1.2.
Ground motions from the South Wales quake recorded at BGS seismic stations across the UK. Records show ground displacement in nanometers and are ordered by distance. The waves take about 10 seconds to reach the closest station, 60 km away. @BritGeoSurvey @BGSseismology pic.twitter.com/O8QLYE9nHl
— Brian Baptie (@BrianBaptieBGS) February 18, 2018
The second was a little larger, with a magnitude of 1.5, which occurred at 4.27pm. The largest known British earthquake occurred near the Dogger Bank in 1931, with a magnitude of 6.1.
Fortunately, it was 60 miles offshore but was still powerful enough to cause minor damage to buildings on the east coast of England.
The most damaging UK earthquake was in the Colchester area in 1884. Some 1200 buildings needed repairs – chimneys collapsed and walls were cracked.
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Earthquakes are one the world’s most deadly natural hazards. Large earthquakes often strike without warning in areas of high population density, which can lead to catastrophic events.
The UK is not generally associated with earthquakes, however, between 20 to 30 earthquakes are felt by people each year and a few hundred smaller ones are recorded by sensitive instruments.
‘The Beast’ has also – presumably – resulted in a 98.9 per cent recurring upsurge of water cooler talk about windproof clothing and the temperature of thermostats across the land.
Hunker down and stay safe, people!
A former emo kid who talks too much about 8Chan meme culture, the Kardashian Klan, and how her smartphone is probably killing her. Francesca is a Cardiff University Journalism Masters grad who has done words for BBC, ELLE, The Debrief, DAZED, an art magazine you’ve never heard of and a feminist zine which never went to print.