UK rocked by eight earthquakes in 5 days as iconic magnificence spot struck
According to new British Geological Survey data, the UK was struck by several worrying earthquakes across a week-long span, with a popular spot the epicentre of one of them
Lovely place, but a bit dangerous (Image: Getty Images)
The UK has been rocked by a series of eight earthquakes across five days. Unbeknownst to many, the UK has a history of seismic activity – with several hundreds of ground shaking events taking place across the country in 2025.
And while none of them are quite on the level of killer ones seen worldwide on many occasions, they are strong enough for the British Geological Survey to detect and report on them.
And during a five day period last week, eight events were recorded – with a popular beauty spot the epicentre of one.
The earthquakes started on Friday, January 30, in Dorstone, Herefrodshire where one measuring 0.7 on the Richter Scale happened at 8.21am, and was detected at a depth of 12km.
This was followed around seven hours later, at 3.38pm in the Irish Sea – around 50km from East Wicklow – with a 1.1 at 7km depth.
And just two hours later at 5.34pm, a 1.6 event was detected at 6km in Caldbeck Cumbria – which was followed less than 12 hours later at 12.44am on Saturday in the beauty spot of Bronwydd, Carmarth, with a 1.5 earthquake at a depth of 5km down.
There was a slight lull for a few hours before a double whammy at 7.24pm and 7.25pm was recorded in Askamore, Co Wexford with a 1.1 and 0.7, found at five and 8km down respectively.
After a three day break, two were recorded on Tuesday, with a 0.7 quake felt in the Irish Sea near East Wicklow again at 12.09am, while the final one hit in Silverdale, Lancashire at 11.09pm, at a depth of 3km and was recorded at 1.1 on the Richter Scale.
Last year, the Daily Star explored why the UK appears to be turning into an earthquake hotspot. Roger Musson, a former Head of Seismic Hazard and Archives at the British Geological Society, explained that the trend is largely linked to how the strongest recorded quakes are measured and interpreted.
He said: “There is a simple rule of thumb – for every decrease of one unit of magnitude, one expects a tenfold increase of number. So if the tectonic situation of the UK results in one 3.5 magnitude earthquake on average every year, then typically one should get ten of 2.5, 100 of 1.5 and so on.”
“Most of these will be too weak or too remote to be noticed by people, but can be detected by instruments.”
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