Cornwall earthquake: Homes rocked overnight as locals left fearing …
Homes have been rocked as an earthquake[1] hit Cornwall with reports of ‘loud bangs like a lorry crash’ heard.
Residents in West Cornwall reported “rumbling” and “juddering” in the early hours of this morning. The quake happened offshore in Mount’s Bay, but tremors were felt in Penzance, Camborne and Helston, the British Geological Survey said.
A spokesperson said: “Reports have been received from residents in Helston, Penzance and Camborne, in Cornwall, that this event was felt. Reports described ‘a moderate rumbling’ and ‘a bang and a judder, like a juggernaut had hit the house’.
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It’s the third earthquake to hit Cornwall in just over a year (
Greg Martin / Cornwall Live)
Earthquakes at a 2.5 magnitude or below are usually not felt but can be recorded by a seismograph. Damage to buildings and infrastructure does not usually occur until the earthquake magnitude reaches somewhere above four or five.
Sue Dibble, from St Tudy, said: “It was very loud, like a whooshing and the house and bed were shaking. I thought I’d imagined it.” Between 20 to 30 earthquakes are felt by people each year in the UK, but most of these are very small and cause no damage, the BGS said.
A quake is not considered a major until it reaches 7 on the magnitude scale. People in the area described the moment it felt like a lorry had crashed into their houses. It is not the only one to hit Cornwall this year.
In February, locals felt their houses ‘shake’ as the earth moved beneath them a quake with a magnitude of 1.5 on the Richter scale began in Penryn, two miles west of Falmouth. Before that, the last earthquake to be recorded in Cornwall had a magnitude of 0.5 in late October last year.
One resident at Helston posted: “Sounded like a large vehicle coming to the house and then the stone cottage shook for a few seconds then went away. Birds fell silent and then were noisy after.” One person in Truro said: “Dogs were restless, one jumped on the bed, then heard what sounded like a thud or the door closing on our grandmother clock.”
Explaining its recordings, the British Geological Survey says: “The British Geological Survey provides up-to-date information on recent and historical earthquakes, educational resources, and seismic hazard services.
“Depths are rounded to the nearest km and all events shallower than 1 km are listed as 1 km. Magnitudes are local magnitude (ML) and are calculated to one decimal place, as is standard practice in earthquake seismology.”
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References
- ^ earthquake (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ [email protected] (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ Ninja Black Friday deals joined by long-awaited launch as brand takes on Ooni (www.mirror.co.uk)