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lancashire Shaken by a 2.5 magnitude earthquake early Friday morning.
The earthquake struck the village of Silverdale at about 5am, with tremors reported as far away as Blackpool and Flucksburg.
British Geological Survey (BGS) said the earthquake was felt throughout the Morecambe Bay area, with residents describing “loud, strong shaking” accompanied by a “thundering sound” and others reporting that radiators and pictures were shaken.
One person said, “The noise was like an impact. I thought it would be something like a tree falling on the house.”
Another said: “It woke us up and it felt like there was an explosion and the radiators and pictures shook.”
Earthquake comes after two weeks Another earthquake of 3.3 magnitude in the same area,
BGS told Independent Last night’s earthquake is considered an “aftershock” of that more powerful event, and the two events are linked.
The previous earthquake occurred off the coast of Silverdale on December 3 at a depth of 1.86 miles. This morning’s shock was at a depth of 1.61 miles and in the same area.
Locals close to the epicenter of the last earthquake told BGS that it “felt like an underground explosion” and was “so powerful that it shook the whole house”.
BGS seismology team told Independent The earthquakes were caused by “movement on a previously unknown fault”.
“This tension is caused by the movement of tectonic plates,” he said.
While the official epicenter of last night’s shock was close to the previous earthquake – “less than 2 km” away, the team said it may actually be “the same location within the uncertainty of our location”.
“Last night’s incident was an aftershock of one that occurred in the same area earlier this month. Aftershocks are not unusual,” he said.
Seismologists said those worried about whether the ground in the Lancashire area is actually still strong should not worry.
He added: “The seismicity experienced across the UK falls within the expected amount of activity. While at a national level, earthquakes occur throughout the year, at a regional level it is more common for earthquakes to occur in small clusters.
“Although the Lancashire events were not small by British standards, they were also nowhere near the intensity of earthquakes found in other parts of the world.”
The BGS records 200 to 300 earthquakes each year across the UK, but usually only 20 to 30 are strong enough for people to feel. Most tremors are so small that they can only be detected by monitoring equipment, and most tremors cause little or no damage.