A minor earthquake struck near the town of Sedbergh in the Yorkshire Dales at around 4am on Sunday, with the tremor sending vibrations and “loud rumbles” through nearby homes and startling residents from their sleep
Residents in the Yorkshire Dales and surrounding areas were reportedly rocked by an earthquake on Sunday morning (September 13). According to the British Geological Survey (BGS), a small tremor hit close to the town of Sedbergh at around 4am precisely, measuring 2.2 on the magnitude scale.
The quake was detected by BGS monitoring stations spanning Ingleton, Selside, Carlton, Slaidburn, Winston and Skipton. Though fairly modest in scale, the unexpected tremor caused vibrations and “loud rumbles” to ripple through neighbouring properties, leading residents to ask whether their neighbours had also felt the earth shift.
Over in Tebay, the tremor proved noisy enough to wake entire families, judging by Facebook responses, reports Yorkshire Live.
Maria Davidson said: “I heard it, Tebay. Woke the dogs and me up.”
For some, the quake passed completely undetected; On Facebook, Jonathan James Crowley said: “I thought it was that lad up the road with the loud exhaust….”
The incident triggered recollections of far more powerful earthquakes throughout the UK; Facebook user Lizzi Rallings said: “I remember the Dudley one in 2002. Think it was a 4.2. My stuff came off the shelves and the bed moved from the wall.
“I was 10 at the time, and the world seemed a very scary place just after 9/11. I genuinely thought we were being bombed. It was a horrific way to be woken up.”
In a similar vein, reflecting on childhood experiences, Amanda Currie posted to Facebook: “I remember an Earthquake when I was little in the 70s at Orton, my bed slid from one side to the other.”
Despite the chatter online, the British Geological Survey recorded no damage from the early morning tremor. The cause of the earthquake remains a mystery, although minor earthquakes across the UK are not out of the ordinary.
More than 300 earthquakes have been recorded in the UK last year. Among the most active regions were Perthshire and the western Highlands in Scotland, southern parts of Wales, and Yorkshire and Lancashire in England, the British Geological Survey (BGS) data shows.
The two largest onshore earthquakes happened hours apart on October 20 near Loch Lyon in Perth and Kinross, when a 3.7-magnitude tremor was shortly followed by one of magnitude 3.6.